Worst first-round opponent for each NBA Western Conference playoff team

Utah Jazz: Houston Rockets

The Utah Jazz have a complicated relationship with Houston. In that, the Rockets have been their demise in each of the last two postseasons, requiring just five games each time.

Many of Rudy Gobert’s playoff struggles can be attributed to Houston’s emphasis on dragging the two-time Defensive Player of the Year out of his comfort zone at both ends of the court. It’s no coincidence he got only 30.4 minutes per game in the first round last year, where an on-court plus/minus of minus-15.4 was too glaring for Utah to ignore.

Donovan Mitchell has also struggled against the Rockets, shooting just 34.0 percent from the field across 10 career playoff games.

If the Jazz lacked the firepower to hang with the Houston’s at times explosive offense, that issue is exacerbated by the absence of Bojan Bogdanovic due to wrist surgery underwent in May.

Utah’s prized free-agent acquisition was averaging 20.2 points per game while shooting 41.2 percent from distance. He proved the difference in their lone win over the Rockets, canning a buzzer-beating triple to escape Houston with a one-point victory.

If Utah couldn’t figure out the Rockets with Clint Capela clogging the lane, it’s hard to envision an epiphany when arguably their most valuable player is unplayable for all 48 minutes. Not to mention potentially the two best players in the series donning Rockets jerseys, furthering a gap the Jazz have yet to figure out how to close.