ROCKETS: Bobby Jackson, Carl Landry, Luther Head, Chuck Hayes, etc.
With Alston out, veteran Bobby Jackson — acquired in a February trade with New Orleans — gets the ball at the point for Game 1, backed up by rookie Aaron Brooks. Undersized Chuck Hayes lost his starting job to Scola, and yields about three inches and 30 pounds to Boozer, but he's a defensive beast. Rookie Carl Landry will help inside too. Luther Head offers perimeter depth; sporadically used Steve Novak is an outside shooting threat.

COACH

JERRY SLOAN
Sloan finished his 20th regular season as Utah's head coach six victories shy of 1,000 with the Jazz. He's fourth on the NBA's all-time victories list with 1,088, trailing only Lenny Wilkens, Don Nelson and Pat Riley. His teams are 54-35 all-time in the regular season against Houston, and he's one of the few men trumping Rockets coach — and ex-Chicago teammate — Rick Adelman in experience.

RICK ADELMAN

This the first season in Houston for Adelman, who got the job when Jeff Van Gundy exited with the Jazz's Game 7 win over the Rockets last year. The former (New Orleans) Jazz guard (1974-75) twice coached Portland to the NBA Finals (1990, '92), spent two seasons with Golden State (1995-97) and got Sacramento to eight straight postseasons (1999-06). He has Sloan's utmost respect.