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Utah Jazz at Sacramento Kings: Keys to the Game

By Jared Woodcox

Mar 5, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Darren Collison (7) scores against Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) and forward Joe Ingles (2) 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; Sacramento Kings guard Darren Collison (7) scores against Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) and forward Joe Ingles (2) 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 /
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Mar 5, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Utah Jazz guard George Hill (3) celebrates after a play against the Sacramento Kings ahead of Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward (20) during the fourth quarter 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 guard George Hill (3) celebrates after a play against the Sacramento Kings ahead of Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward (20) during the fourth quarter at Golden 1 Center. The Utah Jazz defeated the Sacramento Kings 110-109 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

Prediction – Jazz 105, Kings 98

I was watching a game that involved the Philadelphia 76ers recently and the announcers continually hit on the fact that despite the fact that Philly has no chance of making the playoffs, they’re a team that plays extremely hard and never quits. I feel like you could say the exact same thing about this post-Cousins-trade Sacramento team.

Although their record hasn’t been great since the All-Star break (5-12), they’ve continually played with an edge as if desperate to show that they can still compete in this league despite no longer having All-Star DeMarcus Cousins in their ranks. This determination was perfectly evidenced by their latest win over LA.

Therefore, especially given that the Kings will likely come in with high confidence after that incredible victory, there’s no way that the Jazz can take a laid-back approach to this contest. Nevertheless, while I expect Sacramento to put up quite a fight, just as I did in my week preview piece, I’m pinning Utah as seven-point winners in this one.

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And earning a win over Sacramento will be crucial for the Jazz given that this is truly the final “easy” game left on the schedule. Utah will go on to host a red hot Washington team on Friday before heading out to San Antonio on Sunday, then will have five more tough games beyond those to conclude the season.

The Jazz were able to come away victorious in Monday’s very winnable contest over the Pelicans and looked a lot more cohesive than they had in recent games. If that can carry over to this upcoming contest and beyond, then the Jazz could very well be able to build some confidence and be on their way to a great conclusion to the season.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com

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