West Conf. Semis, Game 2: Utah Jazz 116-108 Houston Rockets - 5 Talking Points

#1 Houston's defense has been a mess this series

Donovan Mitchell and James Harden

There's been a lot of talk about how great the Rockets have been defensively, and that being the reason why they'll be able to beat the Golden State Warriors, but I don't see it. The Jazz have shot 50% or above in both the games thus far and a trend is starting to pop up. Going back further, the Rockets have now allowed teams to shoot 50% or more in 4 of their last 5 games and we aren't exactly talking about high powered offenses that they've gone up against in the T-Wolves and the Jazz.

The offense got them back in it, only for some terrible defense late in the game. The Rockets were up 2 with 8 minutes remaining but gave up a 16-2 run as the Jazz just kept hitting wide open shots. A lot of it had to do with Mitchell making good decisions with the ball, but you have to defend better. Utah is arguably the best defensive team in the league and if they keep allowing the Jazz to shoot such a high percentage, this is going to go the distance.