2019 NBA Playoffs: Houston Rockets vs. Utah Jazz preview

Key Matchup: James Harden vs. Donovan Mitchell

The obvious matchup everyone will have their eyes on in the opening round is James Harden vs. Donovan Mitchell.

Throughout their careers and during the 2018-19 regular season, both Harden and Mitchell played heavy roles in contributing to their team’s overall success.

Harden finished the 2018-19 regular season appearing in 78 games for the Rockets, averaging 36.8 minutes per game while tallying a league-leading and career-high 36.1 points per contest. He also hauled in 7.5 assists, 6.6 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 44.2 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from 3.

Mitchell finished the regular season schedule playing in a total of 77 games while averaging 33.7 minutes per game. In his sophomore campaign, he averaged career-highs in points (23.8), assists (4.2) and rebounds per game (4.1), along with 1.4 steals per contest.

Mitchell shot a slightly below-average 43.2 percent from the field and 36.2 percent from behind the arc.

In head-to-head regular season games between the two players so far in their careers — which consists of eight games — Harden holds a sizable advantage over Mitchell.

Harden is averaging 33.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.6 steals per game to record a 6-2 record in all-time matchups against Mitchell. The second-year wing Jazz guard is averaging 19.8 points, 4.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game and is 2-6 when facing Harden.

Among all the interesting matchups that lie within this matchup between Houston and Utah, the battle between Harden and Mitchell will draw a lot of eyes in seeing how they perform against each other throughout the series.