Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Rockets Opponent Season Preview: Utah Jazz
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HOUSTON — After losing in the first round of the playoffs for the third time in four years, the Utah Jazz underwent the most significant transformation this off-season.
Utah's off-season began with coach Quin Snyder stepping down in June. Three months after Snyder's departure, the franchise broke up its All-Star duo of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell.
The Jazz will not be a team contending for a championship. But if the season started today, Utah would be a better team than its off-season projections with players like Bojan Bogdanovic, Jordan Clarkson and Mike Conley Jr. still on the roster.
Draft picks were the primary compensation in the deal that sent Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves. But the possibility of Utah staining its competitiveness next season revolves around the acquisitions of Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton obtained in the trade that sent Mitchell to Cleveland.
By joining the Jazz, Markkanen and Sexton will have their best chances to reach their NBA potential — which could result in Utah's front office utilizing the young duo as foundational pieces to their rebuilding project.
Without being a franchise's primary option, Markkanen is a seven-foot big man who has averaged 15.4 points on 44.1 percent shooting from the field and 7.0 rebounds throughout his five-year career. The same can be said for Sexton, who has averaged 20.0 points on 45.8 percent shooting through his first four years in the league.
If Markkanen and Sexton find their niche early, Utah's newest duo could make the Jazz a dark horse for the western conference's play-in tournament come April.
The possibility of the Jazz becoming one of the NBA's most surprising teams could result in the Houston Rockets spending another season towards the bottom of the western conference.
But with a home-and-home match set early to begin the 2022-23 campaign, it will not take the Rockets long to create separation between themselves and their long-time rival.
Key additions: Coach Will Hardy, Ochai Agbaji, Malik Beasley, Walker Kessler, Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton.
Key subtractions: Coach Quin Snyder, Rudy Gobert, Juancho Hernangomez, Donovan Mitchell and Royce O’Neale.
2021-22 season series: Jazz 3, Rockets 1
2022-23 season matchups: Oct. 24 (Home), Oct. 26 (Away) and Jan. 5 (Home)
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