Jazz-Rockets Head-to-head matchups

A close-up look at the matchups in the Jazz's first-round NBA playoff series with the Rockets:

POINT GUARDS

Deron Williams;16.2 ppg, 9.3 apg: Williams, the 2005 NBA Draft's No. 3 overall selection, has played with much more confidence during his second season than when he was a rookie. The University of Illinois product who helped take the Illini to the '05 NCAA title game is the league's No. 2 leader in assists per game this season, trailing only two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash of Phoenix. He's been slowed since the NBA's mid-February All-Star break by a strained groin.

Rafer Alston;13.3 ppg, 5.4 apg: Alston is in his eighth NBA season and second in Houston, with previous stops in Milwaukee, Toronto (twice) and Miami. The New York City playground legend from Queens is known as "Skip 2 My Lou" at Rucker Park and in streetball circles. He has appeared in 22 NBA playoff games, but none since 2004.

The matchup could come down to the two points' abilities to keep their teams in their offense, with Williams perhaps more disciplined in that regard and Alston more of a freelancer.

SHOOTING GUARDS

Derek Fisher; 10.1 ppg, 3.3 apg: Fisher, in his first season with the Jazz, won three NBA championship rings with the Los Angeles Lakers from 2000-2002. He has played in 117 playoff games, more than the rest of the Jazz roster combined, and appeared in the postseason during each of his first eight NBA seasons, all with the Lakers. Fisher, who has struggled with his shot lately, may be best-known for hitting the game-winner with 0.4 seconds remaining in Game 5 of the Lakers' 2004 Western Conference semifinals series against San Antonio— a play selected in 2006 by a panel of league experts as the 18th greatest moment in NBA playoffs history. He's battled nagging injuries much of the season, but was one of just three Jazz players — along with subs Jarron Collins and Paul Millsap — who did not miss a game.

Tracy McGrady; 24.5 ppg, 6.6 apg: The NBA's Most Improved Player in 2001, McGrady has been picked for the NBA All-Star Game seven straight times starting in '01. Selected ninth overall by Toronto in the 1997 draft without ever attending college, the Florida native — NBA star Vince Carter's cousin — was USA Today's High School Player of the Year as a senior. He once finished as Houston's top scorer in a 2005 game against Utah despite leaving at halftime for his son's birth. McGrady is one of the NBA's most-athletic players, especially when his occasionally bad back isn't acting up. He's averaged 29.8 points in 25 playoff games for Toronto, Orlando and Houston.