The Utah Jazz head to Sleep Train Arena to take on the Sacramento Kings. The game gets underway at 10:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Dec. 8 and will air on NBA, RT and CSA.
The Kings lost a winnable game to the Thunder 98-95 on Sunday. Rudy Gay was the team’s high scorer, contributing 20 points. The Jazz, meanwhile, are coming off a 122-119 win over the Pacers on Saturday. Derrick Favors had a good game, accumulating 35 points and 13 rebounds to claim his seventh double-double of the season.
Over the last five games, Favors and Gordon Hayward have been hot for the Jazz. During that stretch, Favors has averaged 23.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.5 blocks. Not to be outdone, Hayward has put up 24.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.8 steals, and 3.0 three-pointers.
This game should be a matchup of contrasting styles. The Kings (ranked second in the league in possessions per game) prefer an up-tempo style of play, while the Jazz (29th) are slow-paced.
The Kings are a small one-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 203 points. The Kings look to improve upon their records of 7-15 Straight Up (SU) and 10-12 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 2-11 SU and 5-8 ATS against teams from the Western Conference. Sacramento is excellent from the perimeter, shooting a stellar .369 from three-point range. If its opponents turn the ball over, Sacramento has shown that it knows how to capitalize. They average 18.1 points off turnovers, making them the fifth-best team in the league for that category.
On the other side, Utah has a SU record of 9-9 and an ATS record of 11-6-1. In Western Conference games, Utah has gone 4-4 SU and 5-3 ATS.
This game marks the first time these teams will play this season. The last time the Kings and the Jazz played, Utah won, bringing its SU record in the past 10 games to 6-4. However, the Kings lead the matchup ATS with a record of 5-4-1.
Predictions: SU Winner – Uta, ATS Winner – Uta, O/U – Under
Notes
Sacramento is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Sacramento’s last 6 games.
Sacramento is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Sacramento’s last 8 games at home.
Sacramento is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games at home.
Sacramento is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Utah.
Sacramento is 1-4-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Utah.
Sacramento is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games when playing at home against Utah.
Sacramento puts up 104.8 points per game (ranked fourth), but Utah typically allows only 95.9 points per game (ranked third).
Sacramento ranks 14th in the league with 103.0 points per home game. Utah gives up just 92.4 points per away game (ranked third).
In its last game, Utah won by a margin of three points. Sacramento is 1-1 in games decided by three points or less. Utah has a 2-2 record in close games.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Utah Jazz are a stellar 8-2. In games where they score fewer than 100 points, the Sacramento Kings have an abysmal record of 1-8.
Utah is a subpar 1-7 when it allows 100 or more points. Sacramento has a 6-7 record when it puts up triple digits.
The Kings have a defensive rating of 106.8 (ranked 27th), while the Jazz rank 15th for their offensive rating of 102.1.
Sacramento has an average field goal percentage of 44.9% (ranked eighth). Utah is a subpar 2-7 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
On average, the Sacramento Kings attempt 22.0 three point field goals per game and the Utah Jazz attempt 20.0 per game. In games where they attempt at least 25 threes, Sacramento is 3-4, while Utah has a losing record of 1-2.
The Sacramento Kings, with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.53, rank 13th in the NBA. The Utah Jazz have a lower A/TO (1.23), ranking 29th.
The Kings rank 11th in rebounds per game with 44.5, while the Jazz rank 23rd with 43.0 per game.
The Utah Jazz rank sixth in offensive rebounding, while the Sacramento Kings rank 20th in defensive rebounding.
Utah is one of the top teams in forced turnovers, with opponents averaging a TOV% of 16.1% (ranked fifth). Sacramento has an underachieving record of 2-7 SU this season when its TOV% reaches 16.1% or greater.
