The Houston Rockets seem to be on their way to the Western Conference semifinals after stunning the Utah Jazz in Game 3 of their first round playoff series matchup. They are one win away from advancing to the next round and will face the winner of the Golden State Warriors-Los Angeles Clippers series.
One of the main reasons why the Rockets are up 3-0 against the Jazz is because Utah has been struggling to hit 3-pointers throughout the series. In Game 3, Utah shot 12-41 from beyond the arc, a horrendous 29.2 percent shooting from that spot.
The Jazz are now shooting 25 percent from distance through three games.
Make that 27-of-106.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) April 21, 2019
Of course, the Rockets have capitalized in their opponents' struggles. Even with James Harden struggling to shoot the ball in Game 3, Houston had enough firepower to take down Utah. Seems pretty impressive right?
Well, not really.
The story of this series isn't about the Rockets' success, but the Jazz's struggles. They weren't this bad during the regular season, but for some reason, they are not playing the way they used to be. Not taking anything away from Houston, but they won't be as good as they look right now should they face the Warriors in the next round.
The Clippers aren't expected to pull a miraculous upset against the Warriors, meaning Golden State and Houston will see each other in the semi-finals. Things will be more difficult for the Rockets because, well, the Warriors will not be shooting poorly from three.
The Warriors are shooting 35 percent from 3 in their series against the Clippers. Sure, they had that off night against in Game 3, but they were still able to get the win because they have four All-Star caliber players on that team.
Unlike the Jazz, who only have Donovan Mitchell to rely on for offense, the Warriors have Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and Klay Thompson, three of the most efficient scorers in the history of the NBA.
Follow Us
Subscribe