The J-Notes
Fansided

Who Should Utah Jazz Fans Cheer For to Earn the Eighth Seed?

By Jared Woodcox

Jan 26, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles (2) celebrate with the rest of his team after taking the lead in the third quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Utah Jazz won 96-88. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 26, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles (2) celebrate with the rest of his team after taking the lead in the third quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Utah Jazz won 96-88. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 7
Next
Feb 17, 2017; New Orleans, LA, USA; World Team guard Buddy Hield of the New Orleans Pelicans (25) throws mini basketballs into the crowd after the Rising Stars Challenge at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 17, 2017; New Orleans, LA, USA; World Team guard Buddy Hield of the New Orleans Pelicans (25) throws mini basketballs into the crowd after the Rising Stars Challenge at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

Sacramento Kings

Games Back From Eighth Place: 1.5

Key Strength: DeMarcus Cousins…Oh wait he’s gone, um…teamwork? Buddy Hield???

Key Weakness: A Go-To Guy

Ironically enough, the Sacramento Kings are the only team on the list so far that has actually logged a win over the Golden State Warriors. However, they did so with DeMarcus Cousins on the team and in that contest he just so happened to put up, oh you know, a modest 32 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, so I’d say he was pretty important to the win.

Nevertheless, the Kings actually have a better record as of this writing in the two games since the All-Star break (1-1) than Cousins has on his new team (0-2), so maybe Sacramento is actually onto something. After all, according to Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, recently acquired rookie Buddy Hield is the next Steph Curry.

Interestingly enough, with Cousins parted and Rudy Gay injured, Hield is actually the Kings leading scorer based on games played in a Kings uniform. Sure it’s only two games, but maybe Sacramento’s addition by subtraction move will pay off.

They will face Golden State one more time this season on March 24th and perhaps that will be indicative of whether the Kings have something figured out or whether they’ll be hopeless against the Warriors without DeMarcus Cousins.

It will be interesting overall to see how the Kings navigate through the post-Cousins era and while they’re 1-1 since the trade for now, I can definitely see that record dropping significantly.

They actually do have a number of solid role players in the likes of Darren Collison, Tyreke Evans, Arron Afflalo and even the aforementioned Hield, but without any true quality scorers or a reliable go-to guy on the roster it’s hard to see the Kings making any sort of playoff noise.

Home/Jazz News