The Utah Jazz are going to be short-handed on Friday night when they try to go up 2-1 in their series against the Houston Rockets. Ricky Rubio has been officially ruled out with a hamstring injury, although he does look closer and closer to a return.

Rubio suffered the injury in the Jazz's last series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, originally expected a timetable of 10 days for recovery. If he stays on track with that he should be ready for Game 4.

Rubio is having his best season as a pro and has been a huge reason the Jazz are even in the second round of the playoffs. In the six-game series against the Thunder, Rubio averaged 14.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game. Those stats are up from his season average of 13.1 points and 5.3 assists per game.

In Game 1 against the Houston Rockets, the Jazz looked lost without Rubio and couldn't find a way to get anything going offensively. They didn't have the flow that they have with Rubio and it ended with a loss.

In Game 2 though, it was a different story as everyone stepped up just a bit and that led to the 116-108 win. Game 3 will require yet another team effort to pull off a win at home.

In each of the first two games, it was Royce O'Neale who took over Rubio's starting role. In Game 2 he played 27 minutes putting up six points, four rebounds, and two assists.