The Sacramento Kings will travel to Vivint Smart Home Arena to take on the Utah Jazz. Action begins at 9:00 pm ET on Thursday, Jan. 14 and can be seen on RT and CSA.
The Jazz are expecting a better outcome after their 99-85 loss to the Trail Blazers on Wednesday. Gordon Hayward was the team’s leading scorer with 19 points. The Kings, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 109-97 loss against the Pelicans on Wednesday. Sacramento still lost despite the best efforts of Rajon Rondo, who recorded his 17th double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 assists.
DeMarcus Cousins has upped his play for the Kings, averaging 32.4 points, 13.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.2 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 2.2 three-pointers over the past five games.
It’s a matchup of two different tempos, as the up-and-down Kings (ranked first in the NBA in possessions per game) square off against the grind-it-out Jazz (30th).
This is the second game of the season between these two teams, with the Kings winning the first matchup 114-106. Rondo put up 17 points and 13 assists.
The Jazz have gone 17-20 Straight Up (SU) and 20-16-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 9-15 SU and 12-12 ATS against the Western Conference.
In the other locker room, the Kings have a record of 17-20 ATS and 15-22 SU. Against the Western Conference, Sacramento is 7-16 SU and 10-13 ATS. The Kings convert their shots at a high percentage, ranking fourth in the league at .463.
In their previous meeting this season, Sacramento beat Utah, but the win was not enough to overtake Utah in the most recent head-to-head series. Its record is now 4-6 SU over the last 10 meetings. On the other hand, the Kings hold the advantage ATS with a record of 5-4-1.
Predictions: SU Winner – Uta
Notes
Utah is 2-3-1 SU in its last 6 games,.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Utah’s last 5 games at home.
Utah is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Utah is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing Sacramento.
Utah is 5-12-1 ATS in its last 18 games when playing Sacramento.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Utah’s last 9 games when playing Sacramento.
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Utah’s last 13 games when playing at home against Sacramento.
Utah is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Sacramento.
Utah is 2-6-1 ATS in its last 9 games when playing at home against Sacramento.
Utah puts up an average of 96.4 points per game (ranked 27th). Sacramento ranks 30th in points allowed per game with 108.6.
On average, Utah scores 98.4 points per home game (ranked 25th). Sacramento ranks 30th in points allowed per road game with 110.6.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Utah Jazz are a solid 16-6. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Sacramento Kings have a subpar record of 2-12.
At 1-15, the Utah Jazz have an underachieving record when their opponents score at least 100 points. The Sacramento Kings are 13-11 when they put up triple digits.
The Kings have a defensive rating of 106.5 (ranked 27th). The Jazz rank 15th for their offensive rating of 102.6.
With 93.6 possessions and 1.026 points per possession, the Utah Jazz perform worse on both metrics than the Sacramento Kings. Sacramento averages 102.9 possessions and 1.033 points per possession.
The Sacramento Kings have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking seventh in the league with an EFF% of 51.1%. When their opponents record a similar or higher EFF%, the Utah Jazz have an underachieving 3-13 record.
Sacramento, the fourth-ranked team in terms of assists, makes an average of 24.7 per game. Utah ranks lower at 30th with 18.0.
The Utah Jazz average 5.0 blocks per game for a rank of 13th. The Sacramento Kings rank lower (24th), earning 4.1 blocks each game.
Utah is ranked seventh in offensive rebounding. Sacramento ranks 12th in defensive rebounds.
The Sacramento Kings average 8.4 steals per game, ranked ninth in the NBA. The Utah Jazz are an even 12-12 when they allow at least 8 steals.
