Utah Jazz at Sacramento Kings: Keys to the Game

Key Match-up – Rodney Hood and Buddy Hield

While many criticized the Sacramento Kings for trading away All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins for next to nothing, there’s no questioning that the most intriguing player in the mix that the Kings received was rookie Buddy Hield. Hield was a college phenom at Oklahoma and while his time in New Orleans wasn’t overly impressive, Sacramento team owner Vivek Ranadive has been high on Hield’s potential for a while, considering him the next Steph Curry.

Time will tell whether that prediction holds true or not, but it’s undeniable that Hield has been solid for the Kings since arriving. In his 17 games with the franchise, Buddy is Sacramento’s leading scorer among current players (excluding Rudy Gay who is out due to injury) at 14.7 points per game at a phenomenal clip of 48.9 percent from the field and 43 percent from deep.

He’s had some big games for the Kings including a 22-point outing against the Golden State Warriors and a 21-point night against the Milwaukee Bucks. He was also the key spark that led to Sacramento’s impressive comeback over the Clippers on Sunday night as he notched 11 of his 15 points in the game’s final five minutes.

Therefore, against a team that doesn’t have many guys that can truly hurt the Jazz, it will be vital that Utah keep Hield in check. That duty will fall largely to his shooting guard counterpart Rodney Hood.

There’s no other way to put it – Rodney Hood has had a rough season. Between incessant injuries and inconsistent play, there’s simply been no way of knowing what to expect out of the erratic guard. However, on nights where he’s clicking, there’s no question that the Jazz, particularly on offense, are better for it.

Fortunately, on a night when Gordon Hayward was sidelined due to injury, Rodney had one of those outings on Monday in the win over New Orleans. Hood finished with 20 points that included four made threes to go along with six rebounds and three assists. He passed the ball well and overall did a better job of making the right basketball play.

When Hood plays like that, the Jazz are nearly unstoppable, especially if the guys around him such as Hayward, Hill and Gobert are healthy and active as well.

Therefore, Utah will need such a performance out of their starting two-guard once again on Wednesday night if he hopes to outmatch sharpshooter Buddy Hield and lead his Jazz team to an important victory that will bring them ever closer to 50 wins and likely securing the fourth seed in the West.