NBA: Sacramento Kings vs. Utah Jazz Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Sacramento Kings visit the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night. These two teams have the same number of wins, 19, yet the Kings have fewer losses than the team from Salt Lake City. For the moment, Sacramento is in the playoff zone in the West, while on the other side, the Jazzers are in the last place that, leads to the play-in tournament. Both teams play high-pace basketball with fast rhythm and lots of points, and that’s why both the bookmakers and we expect to see a high-efficient contest at the Vivint Arena tonight.

Apart from this one, you have the preview and the pick for the Wizards vs. Bucks game.

Preview

Sacramento Kings (19-16, +115) have been inconsistent in the past few games, with wins and losses subsequently changing in their record column. Following two triumphs at home against the Nuggets and the Jazzers, both via one point, the Kings lost to Memphis Grizzlies on the road.

That event ended 118-108, with the Grizzlies doing most of the job in the final period, when they managed to break the rivals and post a triumph. They were inferior in controlling the glass, with 47 boards which were ten fewer than the rivals.

Fox had 19 points with six assists, Sabonis 18 with 14 boards, while Malik Monk added 18 off the bench. Harrison Barnes scored 16. Overall, the attack was below the expected level, and that was mostly due to poor contribution coming off the bench. Though, the starters weren’t impressive as well.

The Utah Jazz (19-20, +100) have four losses in a row. It all started when they hit the road in San Antonio, 126-122. Afterward, we saw them losing to the Warriors, 112-107, and the Kings, 126-125, and the most recent defeat came at home to the Miami Heat, 126-123.

As you can see, all the losses were pretty close, and the Jazzers are simply short of luck in the crucial moments of the event. They played a very good game against the Heat, yet Tyler Herro scored a three as time expired to give his team a victory in Salt Lake.

Utah had only nine players in the rotation, with Lauri Markkanen leading the way scoring 29 points and 14 boards. Jordan Clarkson had 22 and five rebounds, while Malik Beasley ended up with 17 buckets off the bench, three more than Collin Sexton, who also came off the bench.

Head to Head Games

As mentioned before, the Kings and the Jazzers played a few days ago, just before the New Year. That game in Sacramento ended 126-125 for the hosts. Kevin Huerter scored a three for the win. He had the team-high in points for the Kings, dropping 30. Sabonis had 28 with 11 boards and eight assists. On the other side, Markkanen had 36 and Clarkson 25.

Prediction

The line for the over/under points is 243.5, and that’s, in our opinion good for Over. We really do expect to see both teams scoring 120+ points, just as it was in Sacramento. Just look at the numbers in the respective events these two teams play, and everything will be clear. Simply, they are playing run-and-dun basketball, emphasizing their attacking productivity, without really caring too much about the defense.

Pick: Over 243.5 points -110