Feature Image: Photo by Thearon W. Henderson of Getty Images.
by Alma Bean
The Utah Jazz (19-18) look to get their first win on this road trip against the surging Sacramento Kings (18-15) before returning home.
What to Look For
During the month of December, Utah is 1-5 on the road and 7-13 for the season. Sacramento in the month of December has been 3-2 at home and 10-7 for the season. Based on those records, this game should be a coin flip for who comes away with the win. With Utah having a game under their belt with a full, healthy roster, the Jazz will look for this game to get this train back on track. With the defensive presence that was shown with Walker Kessler and Kelly Olynyk in their previous matchup against the Golden State Warriors, the paint should be a scary place to drive. Both Kessler and Olynyk combined for five blocks which has helped Kessler move to the top-five in the league in blocks per game averaging 1.9 per game.
Keys for the Game
Rebounding, transition defense and turnovers will be the deciding factors for this matchup. Sacramento is coming in with the number one rebounder in the league with Domantas Sabonis averaging 12.4 rebounds per game. Sacramento is also fifth in the league in transition offense with 24 points per game. Utah is second in the league for most points given in transition with 24.7 points per game. Utah also has the second most turnover frequency percentage in transition per game in the league with 13.7 percent and commits 15.1 turnovers per game compared to Sacramento who is not far behind with 14.2 turnovers per game.
Injury Report
Sacramento- Trey Lyles: Questionable (calf)
Utah- Johnny Juzang: Out (G League), Micah Potter: Out (G League)
Where to Watch?
Tip-off between Sacramento and Utah will be at 8:00 p.m. on AT&T SportsNet.
The Hive Sports 
Leave a Reply