Utah Jazz
The current season for the “jazmen” is not the best, only 5 victories in 17 meetings and 11th place in the West. Even with such schedules, there are chances for the top ten, two wins behind, but there are two games in reserve. In their last game, Utah lost to Golden State 117-134, one of the key factors was the second quarter, which the Jazz lost by 21 points. The aforementioned defeat was already the fourth in a row for the team.
Ukrainian fans should be interested in this club, because the experienced Svyatoslav Mykhailiuk plays here. This season, the Ukrainian gets a lot of playing time, he appeared on the floor in all matches, playing an average of more than 26 minutes, while he scored 9 points, made two assists and the same number of rebounds. Due to injuries, Kessler and Nyang will not play, most likely veteran Kevin Love will get a rest.
Sacramento Kings
The “Kings” look scary in terms of composition, here you have Westbrook, and Derozan, and LaVine, as well as Schroeder and Sabonis. But it should be understood that these are already old guys who have already spent their best seasons. Sacramento is currently second to last in their conference with a record of 5 wins in 19 meetings, while they are two wins behind the top 10, so there is still room to catch up.
In the last match, Sacramento lost at home to the Phoenix Suns with a score of 100:112, the key was the first quarter, which the hosts managed to lose with a difference of 25 points. The aforementioned Schroeder and Sabonis will not help their partners due to injuries.
Personal meetings
The rivals have already played each other this season, the match took place a little over a month ago, even the score shows that the battle was intense, Sacramento won at home with a score of 105:104.
Forecast
The match is important in terms of the tournament, as both clubs represent the same conference, being direct competitors. The opponents even have the same number of wins, but Utah has played fewer meetings.
On paper, there is no favorite, so expect a tense and unpredictable match. I think that the teams will show effective basketball, there are prerequisites for this, so I bet on the total more than 239.5 points at 1.86.
Source: sport.ua