5 Things to Keep an Eye on: Jazz at Rockets, Game 2

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Jazz at Rockets game tonight.

1. Bueller? Rafer?: So much for the speed of Aaron Brooks. Brooks' size was insufficient to deny Deron Williams and his passing lanes, and Bobby Jackson looked like he might as well have been wearing clogs against Williams. Rafer Alstonis not supposed to play tonight, and that could mean more T-R-O-U-B-L-E for the boys in red. The big problem is that with Steve Francis long ago put on the shelf, and Rafer still doubtful, the Rockets have no one with the skills necessary to guard Deron. They jump directly from inept guards to tall forwards. So they are limited in what they can do. And with the way the Jazz are spacing the floor, a trap is just too risky. The Rockets can't stop Deron, they can only hope to contain him.

2. Will The AK Firing Continue?: The big question on everyone's mind in this series is if Andrei Kirilenko will continue the kind of shooting that he displayed on Saturday night, scoring 21 points on 50% shooting. He torched the Rockets with everything from the outside games to the post and mid range jumpers. And all of this while holding Tracy McGrady to 20 points on 7 of 21 from the field. It's probably too much to ask for this every night from Kirilenko, but even if he only performs like this twice more, that could likely be the difference.

3. The Battle Inside Belongs To Argentina: Luis Scola was transcendent. He was everything you could have hoped for. He battled, he fought, he scrapped, he brought energy, and was single-handedly responsible for the third quarter rally the Rockets mounted before running out of steam, talent, and composure. The problem is, Carlos Boozer is still getting his. If Scola really wants to put a stamp on this series, he's going to need to do less of the little things, and put more focus on trying to hold Boozer under 17.

4. The Battle Inside Does Not Belong to Chuck Hayes and Carl Landry: All season long I've sung the virtues of Carl Landry. He's brought energy, scoring, and defense to the Rockets when Yao went down. Unfortunately, the rookie card popped up hard and fast for Landry in this one. 4 points and 4 rebounds in just 11 minutes. This was still better, however, than Chuck Hayes, who had 2 points and 3 rebounds in 15 minutes. The Rockets front court is deep, and it's starters are playing up to snuff. If the bench doesn't seal up it's gaps, though, the Rockets are going to sink pretty fast.

5. What Happens If The Jazz Have No Flash?: Ronnie Brewer and Paul Millsap have both been huge contributors for the Jazz this season. In Game 1, however, they were mostly non-existent. They're going to need to put up better numbers than game 1, because eventually, either Boozer or Deron are going to have a bad game. Most startling was Millsap's struggles against Scola. Scola's size and energy seemed to baffle him, and Millsap's play could only be described accurately as sloppy. He has to do a better job, both to shore up the defense and to allow Carlos Boozer to get some meaningful rest for further down the playoffs, assuming they can get past the Rockets.