Houston is going to be this year's Dallas Mavericks. So far they have been the most overhyped, overated team by the experts. Until they get out of the first round, they are not even considered among the best in the west.

Deron is the best point guard in the NBA now. Yes, that what I said. Hear me out. Steve Nash and Jason Kidd are now in their mid- 30's. Think of all the point guards not named John Stockton who fizzled out when they this age: Isiah Thomas, Oscar Robinson, Gary Payton, Tiny Archibald, etc. Deron Williams is in his early twenties, i think 24, and has already shown a terrific handle on the ball, can shoot the ball from anywhere, looks first to get his teamates the ball- despite being able to score at will. This guy is the real deal! I am so happy he is our man! I am so happy Jerry picked him over Chris Paul! What do all you Chris Paul lovers have to say now?

Sloan with another classic one liner. "If you put it on for the fans, then you'll be sittimg with them." At least he's honest. Coach of the Year. What a guy.

Jimmy thinks it will be a good test tonight for new matchups, Brewer on McGrady and Scola on Boozer. Jimmy likes our chances but we need Memo to step up tonight. Jimmy prefers AK play off McGrady and remain available for backside defensive help.

On a side note, Jimmy thinks Houston will play better under Adelman and his offensive system. With Yao's mid-range shooting and passing ability, he should fit well into the Vlade/Webber high post game.

Fesenko should be given a chance today over Collins just because of his size and shot blocking ability. Yao will have his way over Collins all night unless one of Collins flops will be called a charge.

Not be too anal...but a clarification. Jerry didnt 'pick' D-Will. That was handled by the front office. I agree though, D-Will is far better with the Jazz than C-Paul.

Houston will come in tonight looking to send a message tonight. Yes we beat them last year but houston had no bench. That is not the case this year, that team is stacked. I'd like to see Deron play with Mike James or Bonsi Wells like he did with Skip last year...Not going to happen. Houston Addressed ALL of their weakness (point guards and bench) during the off season. Utah remained the same. Utah is good, but Houston moved on to the next level over the off season. Houston by 12.

Are the Jazz this good? or were the Warriors really bad? Tonight will go a long ways in finding out just how good the Jazz are. Utah looked impressive against a Warriors team that didn't have much talent and no bodys to match up with Boozer. GS will be again be lucky to get in to this years playoffs. But a 21 point win on the road is still impressive. Tonight, the Jazz face a much tougher test. Houston won't be as accommodating as Golden State. The Jazz won't be able to run rampant under the basket. I think one of the keys to tonights game will be Ronnie Brewer. Will Brewer continue to score in the paint with Yao looking over his shoulder and will he be able to defend one of the best 2 guards in the NBA and keep T-Mac from going off for 35 or 40 points. I don't see Okur contributing any scoring tonight, and the Jazz will be in trouble if he get's into early foul trouble.
This game will be anything but a gimme. The Jazz need to bring their A-game or there will be 19000+ disappointed Jazz fans tonight leaving the ESA.

It's football season who cares about the Jazz!

I agree with you that Sloan is a one in a million. We are so lucky to have him here. Where are all the Sloan haters now? Best coach in the league. Best coaching staff in the league. Ditto about Deron Williams. Glad he's our guy. We need to lock him up for a decade and make him retire here aka Stockton. Chris Paul will garner some personal acclades but in his current state and with his current team he won't accomplish what D-Will has done.

If the Jazz play tonight like the did on Tuesday, they should whoop up on Houston.

Bodhi K thinks Jimmy Sneakers knows basketball.

Go Jazz!!!

It's not about to revenge last year lost to Utah, it's all about this year line up and the depth of each team. Let's wait and see who is going to have more potential tonight. Some of the folks were mention about D. William is best point guard in the league, but they forgot they Houston has best center in the league as well.

2nd name thinks Bodhi K is Jimmy's Sneakers. How lame does a guy have to be not only to talk about himself in 3rd person, but then to use a second screen name to post comments in an attempt to make himself appear credible? Which only proves that even Jimmy's Sneakers realizes he's a laughingstock.

But I digest.

Any thoughts on this: If Fesenko does play tonight an Yao eats his lunch, his confidence goes in the crapper and we don't have him mentally straight late season when he could be a huge factor against Yao? I think Fesenko might benefit from seeing Yao live without the risk of being destroyed by him. Remember, as of 4 months ago Fesenko had never even seen a live NBA game. On any level. Any contrasting opinions?

I wish Araujo was available to bang on Yao tonight after Memo gets called with his 2nd foul 4 minutes into the game. I wish Collins was in Russia playing ball.

This will be a very close game! Both the Jazz and Rockets gained a lot of depth to their team in just a few short months. I'm hoping to see Okur frustrate Yao like last year. That was beautiful Defense! I could care less if he doesn't score at all! I think Brewer will find out how good of a defender he is in this game. Boozer and Williams won't have a problem bringing their A game on offense, the ultimate question is if the Jazz can stop the force of the big 3!

See you guys at the top of the key

People talk like Fesenko is capable of going against a guy of Yao's caliber. Perhaps in an English-as-a-second-language competition, but Yao would pretty much make Fesenko into Festinko.

Fess fans, read this and read it well: Fesenko isn't ready.

I trust the coaches. If Jerry says Fesenko isn't ready for the NBA, then, Fesenko probably isn't ready for the NBA. And before anyone says it, the Rocky Mountain Review isn't the NBA.

Yeah I agree with Uses 2nd name. The Jazz need to send Fesenko to the D-league for some experience. I am excited to see him develop.

If Houston plays like they did against the lakers tuesday night the jazz should have no problem winning this game. I think this hype with the rockets is totally overrated anyways.

We again have the chance to make a trade to get Joe Smith from Chicago. This time it is easier than it would have been months ago - we can get a three way deal with the Lakers.

Jazz get Joe Smith, Ben Wallace, 1 round Bulls draft pick, Lamar Odom

Lakers get Luol Dang, Ben Gordon, Memet Okur, AK47

Bulls get Kobe Bryant, Jaron Collins, CJ Miles

Just one reason why the Rockets are better this year: they got rid of Juwan Howard.

Huston will lose ugly

Is anyone else bothered by all of the seemingly undeserved hype that is surrounding Houston and the Nuggets this year? I mean look at Houston all they did was add a cocky guard with bum knees who won't even play (Francis) and Louis Scola, a 27 year-old European Rookie who is at his prime right now and probably won't get any better than he is right now. Looking at his situation I think he will probably turn out a lot like Sarunas Jasikevicius. If you don't know who he is, there's a good reason. As for the Nuggets they're the exact same crappy team that they were last year, the only difference is that this year they have Martin back who has had two microfracture knee surgeries and will never be what he once was. To prove my point one can turn to the game last night against the Sonics, you wouldn't know it by the score but they almost lost the game and probably would have if anyone but Durant would have played in the game.

Who cares about jtm and football. Football is too slow of a sport. When you get tired you run out because your out of shape. Basketball is a faster sport which also requires anyone to be in shape.
GO JAZZ.

No way am I giving up AK and Memo for old bones Joe Smith, Ben Wallace on the decline (who probably has 2 mediocre seasons left and brings zero scoring and a 30% free throw shooting clip), and Lamar Overrated Odom.

I could part with Collins and Miles, but Memo has one bad game and fans are putting him on the trading block. Good grief people have short memories. Remember when Memo won a half a dozen games with buzzer beaters last year? Apparently not.

Go Rox~~~

Hope Sloan give Price a chance after the fiasco that was Jason Hart's play.

I disagree with Fess rejectors. He has untapped potential and it will be tapped if he face a mountain like Yao. You can see how he makes mistakes here and there but he also make freakish moves that Memo and Coliin don't have. Sort of like AK. Although I think it will be soon that he will be in the game. I may agree with decision to keep Miles instead of Morris. Morris is great shooter and player but he look bit weak physically. Miles may have upper hand in terms of how physical Jazz play. I like how he played against 3 position. By the way, stop missing Araujo. Fess is ten times better and cheaper.

I think we need Araujio. He is a big guy who just needed more playing time to get things done. He was barely getting his confidence to him in the NBA then we go and trade him. We shouldn't have got rid of him just yet.

I think Houston is getting the hype this year because of the coaching change more than anything. They still have Gundy's defensive philosophy engrained in them as well as the proven offensive philosophy that Adelman brings. Then of course we have depth this year, probably the best bench in the league. Francis is not even considered in our rotation. That speaks volumes about the backups we have in the rotation.

The Jazz didn't have room to keep Araujo on the roster. They really don't like carrying 15 on the roster, and they would like to only have 13. So which Jazz man do you want to kick off to give Araujo a roster spot? Collins is really the only one that is worth considering. In some aspects he's better than Collins, but Collins is far more consistent and a much better shooter. I would stick with Collins. So then who? Price? Giri? CJ? Nope. Eventhough they haven't lived up to potential, getting rid of them for a big makes our backcourt and 3 spot a little thin, especially with Harping seeing limited minutes. So the only option for keeping Araujo would be to have a 15 man roster again. All that would do is put him on the inactive list for every game. He's not going to get playing time infront of the other bigs on the Jazz roster, except for Fess. But after Fess logs some quality minutes in the d-league, I wouldn't be surprised to see him take the number 2 center spot away from Collins when we play big lineups. There's just no room for Araujo.

We didn't trade Araujo, he was a free agent who didn't get signed by any team in the league. That's why he's playing in Russia now.

Rockets!!!Woooooooooooooo

Did 2nd Name just write, "But I digest?" And he's accusing someone else of being a laughing stock?

Your bench isn't the strongest in the league, that would be san antonio, maybe dallas and then there's definitely others ahead of you. I mean you don't even have a starting point guard let alone a back up one. The good bench that you do have though is Mutumbo and Chuck Hayes, maybe Bonzi but he hasn't played in a year and is a team killer so I don't know if he really counts, I'd say probably not at this point.

I think Houston upgraded their talent this past off-season but, adding players takes time to integrate and get them comfortable. It is called chemistry. That is why the Jazz are as good as they are so quickly--because they have kept a fairly stable roster of core go-to guys who know where each other are on the floor. Then the Jazz have fit pieces around the core to improve/complement their bench. That is why the Jazz should win tonight. However, the Houston series last season was very close and the games with them this year will likely be close as well.

The Warriors are a gimmick that works when their opponents fall for the gimmick by trying to imitate ie. Mavericks. The Jazz have learned not to fall for that trick. The Jazz have exploited/exposed the gimmick. Houston is no gimmick though and we will not be out-rebounding them by 20 like we did to the Warriors. Should be a good game--GO JAZZ!!!

Fess is raw but I say let Harp rest his knees and let Fess get a few minutes in there to feel what he will be up against--he is not ready for big minutes though--especially against YAO.

I dont understand why Houston is getting all the attention, hanging up there with Dall and San Antonio, Winning 60 games like I heard one Analyst say the other night, etc. Look at the team that beat them last year in the playoffs. People are saying the Jazz are going to win no more than 50 games, and be out in Round 1. How bout some love for the Jazz.

McGrady is going to win the MVP this year. Teams can't double TMac like they have in years past - too much offensive talent around him this year.

Rockets fans are going to really enjoy this season.

Man, we lost. By 11, in the home opener. I thought we were better than those guys. Those aren't the same Rockets I remember from 6 months ago.

Read many comments not understanding the hype on Rockets. These Rockets are not the same as last season. The key differences are Rockets' new bench and new coach. Jazz have been playing well and yet still beaten by a Rocket team that is still searching for better chemistry. Rockets will be a bigger force when they found their right chemistry. There is substance in Rocket's hype!

well just to let all the Jazz fans know..Rockets are not the same team they were last year and they showed it...I mean the Jazz played a good game but this year we are not going to back down. We got all a championship team needs. Defense, long range shooter, offense, coaching staff, team leaders, best center, deep bench and the chemistry is developing...ALl i wish is that Francis start picking up the slack...He needs to give his heart rather than throw tantrums...When he is ready we are really going to launch...but if he doesn't we are still going to be fine...i just hope we dont lose him...Rockets are going for a title but we are not going to talk i want to see more action done and by beating the JAzz tonight, we sent a message...ITS TIME

Jazz fans stand up!!!!

*Crickets*

The Rockets are better this year...The Jazz have a very good team...

Just make sure you show us our proper respects from here on out....

Thanks That is all...

Great game! I love these new-look Rockets. They've become such a well-rounded team with no major weaknesses. Although it is only the 2nd game of a very long season, they are definitely showing that they can more than hang with the best teams in the league. How about that alley-oop from Mike James to T-Mac??? Yao was a non-factor and we still won by double digits! The Rockets are so much harder to defend when teams can't just lock in on Yao and Tracy. And let's not forget this.....they are hungry! It's our year, it's our time. This isn't Rockets' hype, they're legit.

Even a half-Rockets (without Yao) could easily beat Jazz. So, forget Utah, they will not be a problem in this season. Go Rockets!