The 48-win Utah Jazz are guided, inspired and carried by Donovan Mitchell, a brilliant and historic rookie.

The 65-win Rockets have James Harden, the NBA's expected MVP, and Chris Paul.

Ricky Rubio, the initial key to Utah's offense, was forced to exit an elimination game due to a hamstring injury.

Harden and Co. took down Minnesota 4-1 in the first round without the services of Luc Mbah A Moute, the Rockets' best defender.

The Jazz primarily relied on just seven players (including Rubio) to hold off Russell Westbrook's Thunder in six games, and blew a 25-point lead in a stunning Game 5 defeat.

The Rockets relied on nine players against the Timberwolves, and Mbah A Moute could return in the second round.

Offense: Advantage Rockets.

3-point shooting: Advantage Rockets.

Star power, depth, explosiveness, experience, home-court advantage: Advantage Rockets.

Heck, forget Mitchell's brilliance for a moment, and the only second-round advantage the Jazz have on paper is an incredibly passionate home crowd.

"Here in Utah, man, a lot of disrespectful, vulgar things are said to the players here with these fans. It's truly disrespectful," Westbrook told the media late Friday night, after Oklahoma City's Little Three fell 96-91 in a season-ender to the Jazz in Salt Lake City. "Talk about your families, your kids. It's truly disrespectful to the game, man."

Toyota Center can also roar. And if there's a Game 7 (doubt it), it'll be in downtown Houston with the Western Conference finals on the line.

Mike D'Antoni can't allow himself to be outcoached by Quin Snyder.

Rudy Gobert (7-1, 245 pounds) can be an inside force and Derrick Favors (6-10, 265) can surprise.

Joe Ingles is going to sink 3s in the Rockets' faces and can't be overlooked.

But after that? Really, what does Utah have that the Rockets can't counter?

The Jazz have become one of the NBA's best stories. Gordon Hayward coldly leaves, again shaking a once-steadfast franchise that still hadn't fully recovered from the sudden departure of Jerry Sloan. Snyder coaches the heck out of Utah in 2017-18, Mitchell looks he's entering his 10th season in Year One and the Jazz keep winning with grit, teamwork and self-belief.

That gets you out of the first round as the chemistry-less Thunder fall apart.

But into the conference finals against the NBA's rested and highly motivated No. 1 seed?

This feels like Rockets 4-2, at worst, right now. And that's giving full credit to Utah's heart – and the fact that Harden's team is still prone to random disappointments and letdowns.

The Rockets come at you in waves. If Harden is off, Eric Gordon, Clint Capela, Trevor Ariza, Gerald Green or Paul can step up. They also play defense now, and a 4-0 regular-season advantage against the Jazz should be a setup for another playoff series victory for the D'Antoni Show.

Daryl Morey intentionally built this team to take down Golden State and end the Warriors' reign.

Which means these Rockets are ready-made to end Utah's season.