Shock waves rippled through most of the NBA in the wake of the recent blockbuster trades involving Pau Gasol, Shaquille O’Neal, and possibly Jason Kidd. But in Salt Lake City and Houston, fans may be giggling to themselves and channeling “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre”: “Blockbuster trades? We don’t need no stinkin’ blockbuster trades!”

Based on recent evidence, they might be right. The Jazz enter the All-Star break on a tear; Utah have won 18 of the last 21. Houston is almost as hot; the Rockets are 19–5 in the same time frame. Unless your idea of picking up Carl Landry from the D-League or taking on Kyle Korver in a salary dump is your idea of a big trade, the Jazz and Rockets are winning by suddenly maximizing in-house talent.

For the Rockets, this was the game plan going into the season. Last season, under former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, the Rockets soared to a 52–30 record. But the team lost in the first round of the playoffs when its offense failed to be much more than a two-man show of swingman Tracy McGrady and center Yao Ming. Van Gundy was dismissed, and Rick Adelman was hired to diversify the Houston attack.

In the early going, it looked like more of the same. The Rockets’ offense was dominated by their big two, with only a few members of their supporting cast getting significant points in otherwise. Adelman tinkered with moving Yao from his accustomed spot, at the elbow or in the low post, to the high post, but, his passing abilities notwithstanding, this slowed the offense: The Rockets lacked the quick guards cutting to the basket that had made Adelman’s design a success in Sacramento.

In December, Adelman began to draw up a new plan built around Yao in his customary spots. Meanwhile Luis Scola — a star on the Argentinean national team whose rights were acquired from San Antonio in a trade this summer — began to blossom. After showing occasional flashes of brilliance during November and December, his game became consistent with the change of the calendar, and he’s averaged 10 points and 5.5 boards in 24 minutes per game in 2008. Scola would probably see more action but for the emergence of Landry, a second-round pick last summer. Since joining the rotation in mid-January, he’s been on fire, shooting 60% from the field and grabbing a rebound every three minutes of burn.

My lone concern about the Rockets is that, although they are winning, they aren’t really pounding teams — that’s a sign that things could level out or even turn around quickly. Wednesday night’s win over Sacramento was a good demonstration of the hurdles the Rockets still need to clear. Through three quarters, the Rockets seemed to be on their way to an unusually easy win, and, typical of the new Houston offense, it was neither Yao nor T-Mac, but point guard Rafer Alston who led the way. But the Sacramento defense blanketed Alston in the fourth quarter. Yao struggled for a few baskets before finding himself double-teamed as well. Meanwhile, Kings forward Ron Artest took over at the offensive end and showed why he might just be worth the headaches he brings to teams: He led the Kings on a 26–7 run to take a one-point lead into the final seconds. Rather than draw a play for Yao or McGrady to shoot, Houston responded with a play that put the ball in McGrady’s hands and had him enter the lane after a Yao screen. The entire Sacramento defense converged on him, which left forward Steve Novak wide open. McGrady hit Novak with an easy pass, and he hit a game-winning 3-pointer.

The game illustrated the Rockets’ strengths, but also their weaknesses. They have made progress, but they won’t be assured of making the Western Conference playoffs until their new offense can efficiently function almost all the time.

Utah, on the other hand, is pounding teams. The team is playing faster, forcing more turnovers, and getting great play from second-year guard Ronnie Brewer. The Korver acquisition enables the Jazz to spread the floor a little better in their half-court offense: In its first full month with him in the rotation, the team shot better than 50% for the month, which has to be a rarity in a league where the average team shooting percentage is 45.4%. The Jazz’s fast break creates open looks for center Mehmet Okur to shoot from the long range, forward Carlos Boozer from the midrange, and for guard Deron Williams to slash to the basket. The fact that the Utah big men run the floor so well has created an offense that is bigger than Phoenix’s (even with Shaq), or Golden State’s, yet just as fast and potent.

The Jazz’s point differential suggests that they may be the best bet to win the no. 1 seed in the Western Conference. The Jazz possess the second-best home record in the conference, so that may prove to be a decisive advantage in the postseason. If so, the blockbuster trades by other teams will have been for naught.

mjohnson@nysun.com