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2018 NBA Playoffs: Last time the Rockets-Jazzed met in the postseason

By Dante Nelson

CHARLOTTE, NC - JANUARY 12: Head coach Quin Snyder talks to Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz during their game against the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center on January 12, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC - JANUARY 12: Head coach Quin Snyder talks to Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz during their game against the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center on January 12, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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What happened the last time the Houston Rockets faced the Utah Jazz in the NBA playoffs? Deron Williams and Tracy McGrady were the talk of the town.

The Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz have a very rich playoff history. The last time they saw each other was back in 2008. Here are all of the years they saw each other:

  • 1985
  • 1994
  • 1995
  • 1997
  • 1998
  • 2007
  • 2008

You have probably noticed a couple of trends. For one, they have been meeting back to back three straight times. 94-95, 97-98, and 07-08. I mean, that’s pretty interesting. Also, as you can probably tell, they had a little rivalry in the 90’s.

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There is also one other thing. These teams have never met in the second round, also known as the semifinals. Out of the seven meetings they’ve had, five of them were in the first round and the other two were in the conference finals.

In total, we’ve seen 39 games, with the Rockets taking 18 games and the Jazz taking 21. While that’s only three games, the Jazz have actually won five of the seven series meetings. The two Rockets wins came during their back to back NBA championship run. I wonder if that happens again this year….

Basically, what I’m saying is, every time the Rockets have passed the Jazz in the playoffs, the Rockets have been NBA champions. That’s just facts.

Alright, so let’s close in on the very latest match-up from 2008. Back then, we had the likes of Tracy McGrady and Yao…oh, no, wait. Yao Ming didn’t play in this series. In fact, his career was coming to an end at this point. Without Yao, the Rockets leaned on 41 year old Dikembe Mutombo. Oh dear. But, hey, they also had Luis Scola and Shane Battier.

Meanwhile, the Jazz were running with a young core of 23 year old Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, and Andrei Kirilenko. They also had a few other well known names like Kyle Korver, Paul Milsap, and C.J. Miles.

In this series, they met in the first round. The Jazz were the 4th seed and the Rockets were 5th, of course. The Jazz won the series in six games, so it wasn’t much of an upset.

One thing about this series, especially comparing it to today’s NBA, 10 years later, is that it was a low scoring series. The teams only broke 100 points once, and that was the Jazz in the game six clincher. You know what’s sort of messed up about that game six? McGrady scored 40 points and the Rockets still lost by 22. Tragic. Also, the Rockets had the largest margin of victory at 24 points in game five.

What likely happened was that Houston was just too worn down and outmatched. Again, they were missing Yao, who only played 55 games in the regular season. McGrady only played 66 games. This was back before the league really got into resting their players. Only three players on the roster played in more than 75 games. Not good. But, that was the story of the mid to late 2000s Rockets.

Must Read: NBA Trade Rumors: Is a DeMarcus Cousins-Hassan Whiteside swap viable?

So, this rich history continues for these two teams. Will the Rockets finally have more wins in the all time match-up? Will the Rockets end the four series winning streak by the Jazz?

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