The 7-foot-2 Mutombo didn't play (coach's decision) most of the first half of the season. Then out-for-the-playoffs All-Star Yao Ming went down with a stress-fractured bone in his left foot, and now Mutombo is starting and averaging 16 minutes per game. The affable, finger-wagging Congo native will block some shots, but the 16-year vet is a matchup waiting to be exploited by Carlos Boozer.

SHOOTING GUARD

RONNIE BREWER
12.0 ppg
2.9 rpg

Brewer represents the Jazz's major change from last postseason, replacing former starting shooting guard and current Los Angeles Laker Derek Fisher in the starting lineup. The athletic University of Arkansas product doesn't have Fisher's experience, but he has quickness and a knack for steals (his steals-to-turnovers ratio of 1.85 led the NBA). That should come in handy against McGrady.

TRACY MCGRADY
21.6 ppg

5.1 rpg

His scoring average: down 3.0 points from last season. The Rockets run a more team-oriented offense this season, so the onus isn't all on McGrady. But don't misunderstand: Houston's offense starts and ends with their seven-time All-Star, especially without Yao; Jazz defenders will have their hands full. Perhaps the bigger burden, though, is on McGrady — who in six tries has never won a first-round series.

POINT GUARD

DERON WILLIAMS
18.8 ppg
10.5 rpg

Ex-Illinois star Williams made a late-season push to pass Boozer for the team lead in double-doubles with 52, and finished fifth among league leaders behind only Orlando's Dwight Howard (69), Chris Paul of New Orleans (56), Minnesota's Al Jefferson (55) and San Antonio's Tim Duncan (53). He's still sore from a late-season butt bruise, but should dominate point play in the series.

RAFER ALSTON
13.1 ppg
5.3 apg

Alston will miss Game 1 and perhaps Game 2 with a hamstring strain, but the Jazz are likely to see him before the series concludes. Skip To My Lou is a streetball legend, and he has a propensity for getting under the skin of opponents, but most would agree he's out of his league when matched against a healthy Deron Williams.

BENCH

JAZZ: Kyle Korver, Matt Harpring, Paul Millsap, Ronnie Price, etc.
Scrappy forwards Matt Harpring and Paul Millsap return from last season's series. New to a particularly deep Jazz bench: sharpshooter Kyle Korver, who hit three fourth-quarter 3-pointers in a Jan. 27 Utah win at Houston, and Houston-area native Ronnie Price, who'll back up Williams at the point. Look for Korver to perhaps see time on McGrady, along with Brewer and Kirilenko.