The Houston Rockets travel to Salt Lake City to face the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena on Saturday.

The Rockets (35-20) come into this matchup winning six of their last eight games. It could easily be seven wins, with one of those being a one-point defeat at the hands of this Jazz club. The direct correlation with that run is the fact that they're playing small. Sending off Clint Capela at the trade deadline seemed like a silly move at the time but these results would say otherwise. It's forced the Rockets into a frontcourt consisting of Robert Covington and P.J. Tucker but it's also causing havoc for opponents on the other end of the floor. To put it simply, the floor spacing is ruining opposing team's defenses and opening up the floor for James Harden and Russell Westbrook. It remains to be seen if that can work come playoff time but you have to give Houston credit for trying something unique and giving themselves the best opportunity to make a run.

The Jazz (36-19) enter this matchup winning four of their last five games and they've quietly been one of the best teams in the NBA since November. In fact, they only have seven losses over their last 33 games in total which is easily one of the best marks in the league. While the defense has always been solid, the boost in offense is the thing that's gotten them going. In fact, they were 28th in scoring when they were barely cracking .500 a month into the season but have climbed up to 16th in that statistic with that recent run. The resurgence of Mike Conley is surely a major reason why and it's scary to think how good this team could be if he returns to his Memphis form.

These teams have played twice this season, with the road team splitting each outing. Prior to that, the Rockets won seven of their previous 10 games over the Jazz.