What to Watch For: Utah Jazz vs Sacramento Kings
Joe Ingles (2) scores over Buddy Hield (24)
The Utah Jazz bounced back on Thursday night, topping the Portland Trail Blazers 122-103. They will once again take the floor at Vivint Smart Home Arena as they face off against the Sacramento Kings later this evening.
Jazz vs Kings Throwback:
Utah and Sacramento have faced each other a total of 194 times throughout history, with the Jazz owning the head-to-head lead 110-84. Last season, the Jazz went 2-1 against the Kings, with the final game ending in a Utah win 123-101.
The last time that these two teams faced each other was over a year ago in Salt Lake City. On January 18, 2020, the Jazz took down the Kings by 22-points. Bojan Bogdanovic led the Jazz with 30-points while Rudy Gobert hauled in 15-rebounds and Joe Ingles dished-off 12-assists in Utah's victory.
Key Players:
Keep your eyes peeled for two of the youngest and most exciting guards in the game in tonights matchup, Donovan Mitchell and De'Aaron Fox.
Donovan Mitchell (45) survey's the floor against Buddy Hield (24) as De'Aaron Fox (5) lurks in the background
I was hesitant to once again put Donovan Mitchell as the Jazz key player to watch for, for the third game in a row. He's been on such a roll over these past few games though, that it's hard not to pick him as your player to watch out for during tonight's game. Mitchell leads the team in points (26), and is second on the team in assists (5.3) and steals (1) per game. Mitchell has led the team in scoring through twelve of the last fourteen games, dating back to March 14. During the Jazz last game, Mitchell finished with 37-points and 5-rebounds.
De'Aaron Fox has been one of the bright spots on the Kings roster over the past few years. He currently leads Sacramento in points (24.6), assists (7.1), and is second on the team in steals (1.4). During the Kings last game, Fox had 23-points, 9-rebounds, and 7-assists in their loss to Detroit.
Fun Facts:
Utah will once again roll out their association uniforms to wear tonight during their matchup with Sacramento. The Jazz are currently 13-7 in their all-white uniforms, with their last game in these jerseys coming against the Phoenix Suns earlier this week.
Derrick Favors has moved into tenth place all time on the Utah Jazz Franchise Scoring List. He passed Mehmet Okur during the third quarter of Thursday's matchup against the Trail Blazers and he currently trails Deron Williams who is in ninth place on this list.
Does Donovan Mitchell deserve to be a part of the MVP talks? He continues to make a convincing case for his name to be in the mix with fantastic performances this season. Read more about the thought process behind this question here.
Could the Jazz Western Conference lead be in better shape than it looks on paper? Check out our thoughts here.
The Jazz will continue to make mask-wearing mandatory at Vivint Smart Home Arena during home games. This announcement comes after the state of Utah announced that their mask mandate would be removed on April 10, 2021. Many other businesses are following along the same path as the Jazz, and will still require masks in their places of employment.
The Utah Jazz have the top three longest win streaks in the entire NBA this season. They've won 11-games in a row between January 8, 2021 and January 29, 2021, 9-games in a row between February 2, 2021 and February 17, 2021, and their second 9-game winning streak between March 19, 2021 and April 3, 2021. The next closest winning streak is an 8-game winning streak, held by the Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks, and Brooklyn Nets.
The Utah Jazz were able to get back to their winning ways against Portland on Thursday, giving them a 8-2 record in their last ten games. Utah is 39-13, and continue to find themselves in first place in the NBA. Utah leads the Phoenix Suns by two and a half games and the Los Angeles Clippers by four in the Western Conference. They also lead the Brooklyn Nets by three games and the Philadelphia 76ers by four games in the Eastern Conference.
The Sacramento Kings are currently 22-30 this year, and are 0-5 in their last five games. During that losing streak, the Kings have fallen short against the San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Detroit Pistons. The Kings are in twelfth place in the Western Conference, and twenty second place in the NBA.
Former Utah Utes player Delon Wright will be back in town as he suits up for the Kings later this evening. Wright led the University of Utah men's basketball team between 2013-2015 and was the first Runnin' Ute to be named First Team All-Pac 12, and to the Pac-12 All Defensive Team.
The Jazz injury report lists Jordan Clarkson (right ankle sprain) as 'doubtful', and Juwan Morgan (calf) as 'probable' against the Sacramento Kings. Marvin Bagley III (hand) is listed as 'out' on Sacramento's injury report against the Jazz.
How to Consume:
The Utah Jazz will take on the Sacramento Kings tonight at 7pm MST. Jazz fans can watch the game on AT&T SportsNet, and can also tune into the game on 97.5FM or 1280AM.
Georges Niang (31) and the Utah Jazz take on the Sacramento Kings
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