Utah Jazz: 3 takeaways from Game 1 vs. Rockets

1. Going to be tough to steal one on the road

The third and final takeaway from Utah’s Game 1 defeat to Houston on Sunday was the reassurance that it is going to be very tough for the Jazz to try and steal a game on the road in a tough Houston atmosphere.

The crowd at Toyota Center was rocking in the opening game of the series, providing the Rockets a clear home-court advantage and an added boost en route to the victory.

That hasn’t been the case just during the postseason, but rather throughout the course of the entire 2018-19 NBA season for Houston. During the year, the Rockets finished with a record of 31-10 in their home floor, which was the fourth-best mark in the Western Conference during the regular season schedule.

During the 2018 NBA Playoffs, the Rockets saw themselves tally a record of 7-3 on their home court, spanning over three series that ended in the Western Conference Finals.

Utah wasn’t necessarily a bad road team during the course of the season, seeing a 21-20 record away from its home floor in Salt Lake City, and could certainly bounce back and take care of business on its own end when the Jazz return back home.

But for now, following the Game 1 loss and heading into another road game in Game 2 down 1-0 in the series, the Jazz are going to have to turn things up a notch if they want to try and even the series and steal a game on the road come Wednesday night.