Rockets vs. Jazz 2018: What Are The Series Odds After Utah Upset Houston?

The first major upset of the 2018 NBA Playoffs occurred Wednesday night at Toyota Center. The Utah Jazz defeated the Houston Rockets 116-108, tying the second-round series at 1-1 and seizing home-court advantage from the Western Conference’s No.1 seed.

Utah was given little chance to challenge Houston when the series began. The Rockets became -4000 favorites after they pummeled the Jazz in Game 1, according to OddsShark, and Utah was a +2000 underdog before even playing a game at home.

Where do the Jazz stand now that they’ve stolen a game on the road?

Houston is expected to recover and advance to the conference finals, but Utah has been given a puncher’s chance. The Jazz's odds are down to +450. Houston is a -600 favorite ahead of Game 3 in Salt Lake City.

The Jazz have already pulled off one upset this postseason, defeating the No.4 seed Oklahoma City Thunder in six games as the West’s No.5 seed. Utah withstood some big statistical performances by Russell Westbrook, who averaged a triple-double in the first round, and they survived a big night from Houston’s top player Wednesday.

James Harden wasn’t exactly unstoppable in Game 2, but he still managed to score 31 points on 22 shots. He added 11 rebounds, six assists and just two turnovers on the night.

Harden missed eight of his 10 three-point attempts, and the rest of the team didn’t fare much better from behind the arc. The Rockets went 10-37 from three-point range, while the Jazz made 15 of their 32 attempts.

Utah certainly won’t shoot at that high of a percentage for the rest of the series, though the first half of that equation wasn't exactly a fluke. The Jazz had the NBA’s best defense in the second half of the season, anchored by Defensive Player of the Year candidate Rudy Gobert.

The Rockets led the league by a wide margin with 15.3 made three-pointers per game during the regular season. They are first in the playoffs at 14.6 threes per night. The Jazz are second at 11.3.

Houston was the NBA’s best team in the regular season, going 65-17 and finishing six wins ahead of the Toronto Raptors for the top record. They needed just five games to get by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round.

The Rockets have lost 18 times this season, including 10 times at home. One defeat doesn’t mean they’ll lose a seven-game series to a team that has 17 fewer wins this year.

Chris Paul was eight-of-19 from the field in Game 2, and the Rockets were outscored by three points in his 35 minutes. Eric Gordon was five-of-16 and was a minus-nine in 34 points. Both players should improve going forward.

Utah won’t shoot as well over the next several games, and Joe Ingles isn’t likely to match the career-high 27 points he put up in Game 2. Donovan Mitchell, however, should shoot better from the field after missing 15 of his 21 attempts.

All of this is to say that perhaps Utah has more of a chance to win than some might’ve originally thought, but Houston is likely to rebound and win the series.