Utah Jazz at Sacramento Kings: Keys to the Game
Prediction – Jazz 96, Kings 84
Given how well the Jazz played in their recent win over the Nets and how much Sacramento has struggled of late, I’m feeling confident in Utah’s chances today. The one area of concern I have is the fact that the Kings are coming off of four days of rest, having not played since Wednesday and therefore will be very fresh.
https://twitter.com/utahjazz/status/838242929449680896
Nevertheless, Utah won’t be coming in overly fatigued and given the simple overall lack of talent on the Sacramento roster, it will likely take a lot more than fresh legs for them to overcome a formidable Jazz team that has played extremely well against sub-.500 teams this season.
Therefore, I’m going to stick with my prediction from earlier in the week and pin the Jazz as winners by a score of 96-84. Sacramento has failed to break 90 points in two of their four contests following the All-Star break, and going up against a staunch Utah defense, I expect their offense to have similar struggles today.
A win this afternoon would also be very refreshing for the Jazz given that the last time they played the Kings, they gave up an enormous lead and collapsed in the game’s waning moments. That of course was with DeMarcus Cousins in action, so I don’t by any means foresee a repeat of that happening today.
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Winning the contest would put the Jazz just one victory away from their win total of a year ago and with the losses that Utah’s closest Western Conference foes suffered on Saturday, would also help them improve their clutches on the fourth seed in the West.
After their battle with the Kings, Utah will be back in action on Monday in the second night of a back-to-back and unfortunately the Jazz have been less than stellar playing at home immediately after a road contest. Thus, hopefully they can play well enough against Sacramento to be able to rest some of their key players in the final quarter and therefore go into Monday’s contest refreshed and brimming with confidence.
Because these easy wins and that hypothetical confidence will be essential to help Utah weather the storm through a daunting stretch throughout the rest of the month of March.
All stats courtesy of NBA.com