Utah Jazz-Kings key matchup: Mitchell battles Bogdanovic

Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell is set to face off against fellow rookie and Rising Stars Challenge MVP Bogdan Bogdanovic of the Sacramento Kings.

Since the return of Rudy Gobert to the lineup on January 19, the Utah Jazz have been the hottest team in the league. They’ve posted an impressive 21-4 record over that span, winning 20 of their last 22 games, including 11 straight wins on the road and eight in a row overall. One can only imagine what their record might have been if they had a healthy Gobert for the entire season.

Facing off against the Sacramento Kings, the Jazz will look to extend their winning streak to nine games, and will hope to increase their lead in the playoff race. Currently, the Jazz are sitting in the seventh seed, but if the New Orleans Pelicans lose to the Houston Rockets on Saturday, the Jazz can take over as the No. 6 seed in the West.

One of the more intriguing matchups on the court when the Jazz face the Kings is going to be a battle between the two top rookies on each team. And no, that rookie is not De’Aaron Fox for the Kings, but rather the 27th pick of the 2014 NBA draft, Bogdan Bogdanovic.

Fox is the better long-term prospect, and is considered the future face of the franchise, but for the time being, Bogdanovic is the better player.

In his first season, he has averaged 11.8 points per game, while shooting close to 39.4 percent from 3-point range.  As the Kings have come to turn more of the offense over to him, he has upped those averages to over 13 points per game, while shooting 41 percent from three. He also contributes four assists and 3.3 rebounds per game.

Last month, while most NBA fans tuned into the Rising Stars Challenge during All-Star Weekend to watch the likes of Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and our very own Donovan Mitchell, they instead watched as Bogdanovic stole the show. He scored 26 points and dished out six assists in the game, leading Team World to a victory over Team USA in the process.

Bogdanovic and Mitchell both play shooting guard for their respective teams, so we should get to see them squaring off quite often. It will be up to Mitchell show that he’s not only the more explosive offensive talent, but equally able to turn around and lock down Bogdanovic on the other side as well.

The last time these two teams met, Mitchell was able to accomplish just that. Bogdanovic had a solid game scoring, 15 points and grabbing five rebounds. Mitchell was just too much for the Kings to handle however, finishing with 27 points, five rebounds and five assists. With Ricky Rubio potentially out for the game, Mitchell could be in for a heavy workload and a big night.

Next: Jazz go for ninth straight win vs Kings

I expect Mitchell to have a big game against the Kings, as he leads the Jazz to their ninth consecutive victory. Should the Jazz win, they could find themselves as the sixth seed in the Western Conference playoff race in short order.