Utah Jazz vs Sacramento Kings: A bit wavering Jazz meets ever-wavering Kings

The NBA betting scenario has been a frustrating one all season long and with each day, the number of upsets, up-and-down odds are only piling up. With the way things are going, we must embrace ourselves for even more unpredictability, and well, this is the NBA we are talking about. You never know when a low-ranked team can hit a huge winning streak and an elite team can go on a losing stream. This is why even when you can identify a favorite and there is no doubt that odds matter, you have to understand that even the handicap discussion is tricky, both in the plus and minus side. Anyway, let us jump into the game between the Utah Jazz and the Sacramento Kings. 

Jazz in a wild race for the fourth spot, Kings desperate to sneak in

The Jazz has been in a very wild race for the fourth spot in the West and their 102:104 loss to the Spurs in the last game came at a tricky juncture. The Mavericks have just one more loss while the Nuggets have just one fewer win and a couple of more losses, meaning that both teams are close. Losing against the Spurs changes a lot because at this point, you are dealing with two red-hot teams and the room to hold onto the fourth position is only becoming trickier. On the other hand, the Kings have been in way worse position throughout the season, barely being in any form of Playoffs race, whether it is the top-six race or the Play-in spot battle. The Kings have lost two out of the last ten games and are on one of those familiar losing streaks, conceding three games in a row, what can they do to accelerate their production?

Sabonis-Gobert match-up is huge

Domantas Sabonis will go up against Rudy Gobert here. Although Sabonis usually collects 3-5 points more than Gobert and has more well-rounder and is a better passer, Gobert is a better rebounder by a whisker but is way more effective on defense than Domantas. Donovan Mitchell and De’Aaron Fox are their squads’ major scorers and usually, Donovan is more likely to go past 30 or so but Fox has kept the ante up and there will not usually be overwhelming disparting between the two. Not having Bojan Bogdanovic means that the Kings with Harrison Barnes has an edge over the Jazz. Mike Conley at the one-guard can be a dependent option too but yes, he is not the same player as before. However, in terms of the bench, the Jazz can deploy Jordan Clarkson, who can score 15-20 regularly while the Kings have strong defenders in Mitchell and DiVincenzo but they are not that effective scoring-wise.

Assuming these players are available, these are my player-based predictions:

• I believe Domantas Sabonis will grab at least 13 rebounds;
• I see Jordan Clarkson scoring at least 19 points;
• I believe Harrison Barnes will score at least 19 points;
• I see Rudy Gobert grabbing at least 14 rebounds;
• I see De’Aaron Fox scoring at least 28 points;
• I believe Mike Conley will score at least 14 points.

Match Prediction and recent trends: The Jazz has lost three out of the last five games and they have been struggling a bit away from home. They played last night in a low-scoring game and without Bojan Bogdanovic, it was clear that their perimeter shooting took a huge hit. For the Kings, their issues just keep on increasing rather than decreasing. I have been suggesting a starting line-up of Fox-Mitchell-Barnes-Lyles-Sabonis to boost the defense and also increase the confidence of rookie Mitchell. At this point, the team can also try out a three-guard lineup of Fox, Mitchell, and DiVincenzo alongside Barnes and Sabonis but seems like the current lineup is what the management seems to prefer although it has struggled on both ends.

For the Jazz, the defense has improved compared to January but their offense has been terrible away from home. Do remember this game will be on their home floor and that is why even without Bogdanovic, their effort can be high-quality. However, despite not being usually trustworthy, I feel the Kings will display some of their best efforts in the coming window. I see someone among Mitchell or DiVincenzo picking the game up and making amends. I see the Kings giving the Jazz a ton of trouble here and think this will be a close game. Although, I think the Jazz will ultimately win this with a scoreline of 116:112.

• Handicap 2 (+7.5) for 2.34;
• Total 2 Over 110.5 for 1.86;
• Total U 231.5 for 1.90.