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The Utah Jazz will look to extend their season-best home record on Saturday when they welcome the free-falling Sacramento Kings to Salt Lake City.
Coming out of a tough double-header in which they won against the Phoenix Suns and lost against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Utah Jazz are still two and a half games ahead at the top of the West.
Meanwhile, the Sacramento Kings have had a nightmarish week. After tough losses against the LA Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks at home, they endured losses against the conference's two worst sides.
Match Details
Fixture: Sacramento Kings vs Utah Jazz | NBA Season 2020-21.
Date & Time: Saturday, April 10th; 9:00 PM ET (Sunday, April 11th; 6:30 AM IST).
Venue: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, UT.
Sacramento Kings Preview
Sacramento Kings fans could be pondering what might have been. If a narrow one-point loss to the Bucks was not agonising enough, two sloppy outings against the Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves were quite disconcerting. Prior to that run, the Sacramento Kings had won five on the bounce and looked like an outside bet to make the postseason.
Their recent run, though, leaves them five and a half games adrift of the eighth seed in the West, so making the play-in tournament is looking like a more likely proposition.
Meanwhile, fixtures don't get any easier for the Sacramento Kings, as seven of their next ten opponents hold a better record than them in the Western Conference standings.
Key Player - De'Aaron Fox
De'Aaron Fox deserves immense praise for his efforts during the Sacramento Kings' recent losing run.
The 23-year-old point guard has kept his side relevant in games by averaging 22.6 points and 6.2 assists in his last five fixtures, with a team-leading 31-point effort against the Minnesota Timberwolves catching the eye.
If one goes back to his performances in his last ten games, Fox's average points jumps up to 28.4 per night, thanks to the Sacramento Kings' 5-game winning streak at the end of March.
In a career-high scoring year, Fox is averaging his highest offensive rating at 113 and already has a win share of 3.4.
No Sacramento Kings player is averaging more points or assists than their talismanic point guard, who happens to be their go-to guy in clutch moments. In the fourth quarter of games this year, Fox is averaging 7.2 points, which is 2.8 more than the next Sacramento Kings starter.
Sacramento Kings Predicted Lineup
Point Guard - De'Aaron Fox; Shooting Guard - Buddy Hield; Power Forward - Harrison Barnes; Small Forward - Maurice Harkless; Center - Richaun Holmes.
Utah Jazz Preview
After a brief midseason blip, the Utah Jazz have returned to dominating the competition, winning 11 of their last 14 matchups. They have been formidable on home court, losing only twice in 25 games, with their most recent victory coming against the Portland Trail Blazers.
In that fixture, six Utah Jazz players scored in double digits, with Donovan Mitchell leading the charge with 37 points. In the Jazz's last two games against the Suns and Blazers, Mitchell and Gobert have been utterly dominant. The French center grabbed 38 boards in the back-to-back games while putting up 34 points.
It is clear that if the Utah Jazz manage to hold onto their top seeding, their two All-Stars could be key to their performances in the playoffs. Against the other top-6 sides in the West this season, the Utah Jazz have come away with a victory on six of ten occasions, something they will hopes continues in the postseason as well.
Key Player - Donovan Mitchell
Donovan Mitchell has been on a mission all season. Ever since he was written off by critics at the start of this campaign, he has been putting up career-high numbers and has also improved his 3-point shot.
With every passing matchup, Mitchell is proving himself as a big-game player. In the Utah Jazz' back-to-back games this week against two of the West's top-seeded teams, Mitchell put up a spectacular 78 cumulative points.
While he has been criticized for not having much of an all-round game, the way the Utah Jazz are currently set up, he doesn't need to. Gobert is a serial rebounder, while Mike Conley is happy to share the load of offensive creativity. Mitchell could well be the deciding factor to the Utah Jazz's success this season.
Utah Jazz Predicted Lineup
Point Guard - Donovan Mitchell; Shooting Guard - Mike Conley Jr.; Power Forward - Royce O'Neale; Small Forward - Bojan Bogdanovic; Center - Rudy Gobert.
Kings vs Jazz Match Prediction
With both teams having the league's top-11 offenses, an entertaining contest could ensue. However, considering their strong record at home this season, the Utah Jazz will fancy their chances of extending their lead atop the Western Conference standings.
Meanwhile, the Sacramento Kings will hope to reverse their recent fortunes and look to Richaun Holmes to contain Rudy Gobert in the paint. The Kings center is having a personal best year, and the Frenchman could look to capitalize on his size advantage,
Where to watch the Sacramento Kings vs Utah Jazz matchup?
In the USA, the game will be broadcast on NBC Sports Southwest and AT&T Sportsnet. The match can also be live-streamed with an NBA League Pass.
Guess the Lakers players!
