Jazz Prepare For Blastoff

April 22, 1998 / 4:07 AM EDT / CBS/AP

The Utah Jazz just completed a season to remember. The Houston Rockets would like to forget the whole year.

The Jazz finished the season with the NBA's best record and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, and did it despite losing star guard John Stockton for the first 18 games with a knee injury.

The Rockets endured a disappointing .500 season marked by injuries and internal strife. Houston lost nine of its last 13 regular-season games and hasn't beaten a team with a winning record since March 25.

But now, as they prepare for Thursday's Game 1 of their first-round playoff matchup, both teams are quick to squash any thought that the regular season has a bearing on the playoffs.

"They've had their troubles this year, and we've done well against them, but you just need to look at that roster and you'll see they're a very good team," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "They've got the players to contend for a championship."

"It's a new season," Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "We can still have a successful year."

Of course, the Rockets also have what the Jazz want, a title.

"They were the champions just a couple of seasons ago, and that (aura) isn't something that you lose," Utah guard Jeff Hornacek said.

Five of the NBA's 50 greatest players will be featured in the series, but the loudest of them may not be able to help his team a great deal.

Charles Barkley's nagging hernia problems haven't let up, and he said after practice on Monday that if the playoffs had started that day, he wouldn't have played. The Rockets say it's likely that Barkley won't be 100 percent until next season.

But playing hurt against Utah is nothing new to the Rockets. Hakeem Olajuwon played in just one of the two teams' four games because of injuries and suspension, and Barkley and Clyde Drexler each missed one of the games.

In addition to Barkley's current ailments, Olajuwon has had problems with both of his knees, and Brent Price sat out the Rockets' last game with a knee injury.

"I think we're a tough matchup for them no matter who's in our lineup," Tomjanovich said. "I know they're tough for us."

The Jazz and Rockets play at the Delta Center on Thursday and Saturday before shifting back to Houston on April 29 for Game 3.

"If we can defend our home court in the first two games, I like our chances," Sloan said. "No matter who we play, we can't afford to give away one home game."

Utah and Houston are meeting in the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons. Last year, the Jazz beat the Rockets in six games to win their first Western Conference title.

"We had a really good regular season, but everything starts ver right now," Hornacek said. "We knocked Houston out last year, so they've got even more incentive to come after us this year."

Olajuwon's sucker-punching of Jazz center Billy Paultz in 1985 was just the first chapter in this rivalry's bitter playoff history.

The Rockets beat the Jazz on the way to each of their recent NBA titles, and last year, Barkley sparked controversy by admitting that he was trying to injure Stockton while setting a pick.

"They're probably our biggest rival within the (Midwest) division," Utah center Greg Foster said. "No matter what problems they're having, they'll come at us tough."