HOUSTON — The Jazz beat Houston three times during the regular season, twice in high-stakes meetings before their postseason fate had already been determined.

How did they do it?

"We made it into a half-court game," starting point guard Deron WiIliams said. "Tried to slow the pace down a little bit, make them guard us, make them work on the defensive end so maybe you tire them out on the offensive end."

On paper, that seems like a sensible way for the Jazz to approach the first-round playoff series with the Rockets that gets under way tonight in Houston.

The NBA postseason, after all, is a lot less about fast breaks and a lot more about half-court execution than the regular season — and, since that's the way they frequently attack anyway, it would seem to play right into the Jazz's hands.

Yet there's one potential problem with that line of thinking:

"They're a half-court team too, though," backup small forward Matt Harpring said. "So it should be a good match-up, a good possession game execution-wise."

"I see it as two totally different teams in terms of personnel and makeup, but two of the same type of teams in terms of what both teams are trying to accomplish, in particular with half-court offensive execution," Jazz starting shooting guard Derek Fisher added. "The lead may change 50 times, because both teams take a lot of pride in execution."

HE SAID IT: Fisher, a three-time NBA title winner, on the series: "You'd have to say right now they are a little more efficient than we are in terms of the way they move the ball and change sides of the floor. I think we can improve in those areas. But in terms of the principles, I think both teams are very much alike — and that's why I think it's gonna be one of the most physical, highly contested series that I've ever played in.

"I'm sure Mavericks-Warriors, Lakers-Suns will have more star-power and maybe more entertainment value. ... But I don't know if there will a better series — possession-to-possession, game-to-game — than ours."

WELCOME TO THE PLAYOFFS: Seven of 13 Jazz players, including starters Williams and Carlos Boozer, go into the postseason without so much as a lick of NBA playoff experience.

They're in for quite a wake-up call, suggested Fisher, whose 117 playoff games are 78 more than anyone else from Utah.

"I think it's sensory overload, initially," he said. "It's really that different of a game, and I don't think it takes long to feel it and ... figure out that there's a difference."