The J-Notes
Fansided

Utah Jazz at Sacramento Kings key matchup: Rookie rivalry

By Tyler Crandall

DENVER, CO - DECEMBER 26: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz dunks the ball around Will Barton #5 of the Denver Nuggets against the Denver Nuggets on December 26, 2017 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - DECEMBER 26: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz dunks the ball around Will Barton #5 of the Denver Nuggets against the Denver Nuggets on December 26, 2017 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz goes up against fellow rookie guard De’Aaron Fox of the Sacramento Kings in a contest that could end up determining draft order.

I would love to say that the Utah Jazz will go into Sacramento and wipe the floor with the Kings. Sadly, based on Utah’s play of late, it’s anyone’s guess as to what will really happen. The Utah Jazz have the second worst road record in the NBA, only half of a game ahead of the Atlanta Hawks.

Meanwhile, the Sacramento Kings have a better away record than the Jazz, but are currently the worst team in the Western Conference and third worst in the NBA.

The positives for Utah are that Rudy Gobert is soon returning, the Jazz have at least shown a semblance of life this season and the organization isn’t currently on fire. These are not true for the Kings.

With how bad the Kings have been, it’s hard to really determine who the key performers are this season. However, between two teams that are not currently playoff hopeful (hard for me to type that), the natural players to pay attention to are the young and developing talent. In this case, two young guards who are seemingly the future of their respective organizations: Donovan Mitchell and De’Aaron Fox.

The matchup

Without question, Donovan Mitchell has been outperforming Fox. That isn’t to say Fox has been bad, but he’s certainly played the part of a rookie on an underwhelming team.


Using Per 36 numbers to get a better gauge, it’s clear that Mitchell has been better in every category other than Assists.

Something Fox has done this season that Mitchell has not accomplished is hit a game winning shot.

Fox really is the future of the franchise and with former Jazz player George Hill running the point for Sacramento, the hope is that he will gradually hand the reigns over to Fox.

Donovan seems to take these “rookie rivalry” games pretty seriously and I, for one, am very interested to see how this plays out.

Next: Cleveland Cavaliers looking to trade, could Utah Jazz make a run at Nets’ pick?

Catch the game on Wednesday night at 8pm MST.

Home/Jazz News