The Rockets' backcourt is supposed to be much improved this season with the additions of Steve Francis and Shandon Anderson.
It didn't matter much to John Stockton and Jeff Hornacek.
The pair combined to hit 16-19 shots and Karl Malone led all scorers with 21 points as the Jazz cruised in the fourth quarter to beat the Rockets 98-82 in the Delta Center.
The Rockets fall to 0-2 on the season, and play the World Champion Spurs in the Compaq Center tonight.
The Rockets tied the game early in the third at 44 all, but the Jazz regained control and never trailed the rest of the way.
Cuttino Mobley led the Rockets with 17 points, 4 boards and a pair of steals. Hakeem Olajuwon was 6-13 from the field for 12 points.
Anderson, who was booed early and often by the Jazz faithful for bailing on Utah as a free agent, scored just 4 points, while Francis added just 8 points, 5 assists and 4 turnovers on 3-8 shooting. Charles Barkley was 3-10, missing his last 5 shots in the fourth, finishing with 8 points, 6 assists and 5 boards. Bryce Drew added 10 points and a pair of assists off the bench.
If you take out Bryon Russell's 2-15 performance, the rest of the Jazz shot 63% from the field. That's sick.
It's the same spill from the Rockets -- poor shooting (44%), lots of turnovers (26) and lack of defense.
Rudy T and the Rockets have promised a more up-tempo fast attack this season, but it's rarely seen so far. They got a lot of work cut out for them, particularly with the schedule getting more brutal over the next handful of games.