The J-Notes
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Utah Jazz Week Twenty-Three Outlook, Predictions

By Jared Woodcox

Mar 25, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder in the first half of the game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 25, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder in the first half of the game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 5, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) controls a rebound against Sacramento Kings guard Arron Afflalo (40) and center Kosta Koufos (41) during the overtime period at Golden 1 Center. The Utah Jazz defeated the Sacramento Kings 110-109 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 5, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) controls a rebound against Sacramento Kings guard Arron Afflalo (40) and center Kosta Koufos (41) during the overtime period at Golden 1 Center. The Utah Jazz defeated the Sacramento Kings 110-109 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

3/29 Utah at Sacramento

8:30 pm MT – Root Sports/League Pass

Opponent record: 28-45

Season series: Jazz lead 2-1

It’s somewhat ironic that for the second time in a row, the Utah Jazz are playing DeMarcus Cousins’ current team (the Pelicans) and former team (the Kings) in consecutive contests. They went up against the two squads in the opposite order last time, but it’s still interesting to be able to see both sides of that trade in two straight games once again.

Perhaps it should come as no surprise, but as disappointing as New Orleans has been since the Cousins trade, Sacramento has fared much worse. The Kings are just 4-12 since trading away their superstar for essentially cents on the dollar.

And just as Utah was able to dispatch the Pelicans in the last meeting, they took care of Sacramento the night prior as well. However, it was a victory that didn’t come easy by any stretch of the imagination. The Kings led for most of the game, going up by as many as 16, but Utah battled back and managed to force overtime. Even in the extra period though, the Kings led for most of the way.

However, the Jazz hung in tough and Rudy Gobert managed to collect an airball jumper from George Hill and slam it home for the victory as time expired. Originally the shot was called goaltending, but after review the truth was revealed and the Kings’ fate was sealed. Utah escaped Sacramento with a 110-109 overtime victory.

To be quite honest, while Utah’s comeback was good to see and the ending was undoubtedly thrilling, this was a contest where it would have been nice to see Utah dominate a little more as one would expect the fourth seed in the West to do against a sure lottery team. Still, a win is a win and it was reassuring to see Utah pull it out.

Nevertheless, they’ll likely need to play much better on Wednesday than they did in their last visit to the Golden 1 Center if they hope to come away victorious. Assuming Hayward’s injury is as mild as Coach Snyder seemed to think it would be, then he should be back for the contest. And if he is, there’s no reason why Utah shouldn’t be able to defeat this Kings team.

Sure, Sacramento did surprise a Clippers team that easily dispatched the Jazz last week, but that just means that Utah has to come in ready to play and not get complacent as LA almost certainly did. Regardless of the Kings’ surprising victory on Sunday afternoon, overall the Jazz match up well against them and I predict that they’ll find a way to come out on top once again.

My Prediction: Jazz Win

Final Score: Utah 105, Sacramento 98

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