Sacramento Kings vs Utah Jazz Prediction: High-scoring Kings meet sharpshooting Jazz

NBA is on and we have yet again seen a ton of riveting contests. We are steadily going toward the midseason window which means we can see a ton of trades, injuries, and lineup shuffle will pile up. But that is the way with the NBA for decades now. Anyway, in another intriguing NBA battle, the Sacramento Kings will host the Utah Jazz

The Kings come into this game after effecting a comeback win against the Nuggets, emerging victorious 127:126 as Malik Monk took over the game and dropped 33 points. The team erased an eleven-point fourth-quarter deficit. This was an important win to curb a two-game losing streak, both at home and the Kings have split their last four games. 

Domantas Sabonis has been a great rebounder whereas Fox has been his usual high-scoring self too. The Kings consistently breach the 120+ points mark but the trouble with their style is that they give up these many points regularly too. The Kings need to avoid the opposition from building big leads and their record of 18 wins and 15 losses means that they have improved a lot.

The Jazz enters the game after losing 107:112 against the Warriors despite 29 points and 16 rebounds performance by Lauri Markkanen. The Jazz has lost two in a row and has lost four out of their six games thus far. Despite a bunch of losses after a hot start, the Jazz remains a game over the 50% win mark but that trend may change soo considering the rate at which they are slipping up. 

Markkanen has scored 24 or more in four of the last five games and he has been having a breakout season, being a big-time Most Improved Player candidate through midseason. The Jazz’s biggest issue is their lack of size and their three-guard flow can hamper them when they are up against big teams. Defense isn’t this team’s strong suit but they have a bunch of sharpshooters.

The Kings are in a great offensive rhythm this season but they are by no means a clinical team at home, leaving holes even against the struggling teams. This is why the Jazz can have a sniff here if the Kings once again let up early and allow them to knock down some open shots. However, I have high belief in this Sacramento unit which is building terrific balance. I believe they will win here with a scoreline of 126:116 here.