After pulling themselves out of a huge hole against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA Cup on Friday, the Sacramento Kings would ultimately fall short of victory in overtime – putting their fitness for Saturday’s game against the Utah Jazz into question.
Utah has quietly won three of five, including an impressive win over the Mavericks last time out, and could stand a chance of threatening a flawed Sacramento team here.
Let’s dig into my Jazz vs. Kings predictions and NBA picks for Saturday, November 16.
Jazz vs Kings prediction
My best bet
Jazz +10 (-110 at bet365)
My analysis
The Utah Jazz have been beaten down by injury, but they will have Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton for this one at the very least after the pair missed some time this month.
Utah’s offense remains in the bottom five of the NBA, but over the last three games we’ve seen a marginal improvement with this team pouring in 115 points per 100 possessions. The Sacramento Kings have been trending in the opposite direction on defense with a string of three brutal games, which has now put them right around the middle of the NBA in efficiency.
Utah loves to shoot the three, firing away on 39.7% of its total looks to rank just outside the top 10, and that’s where Sacramento has struggled most – allowing 37.9% of opponents’ looks to go down, which is the sixth-highest according to Cleaning the Glass.
This is a prickly situation for a Kings team that just expended a ton of energy, erasing a 20-point lead with a late push in the fourth quarter and again recovering in overtime from an early deficit to put them within one possession.
It took 60 points from De’Aaron Fox, and despite his 22-for-35 showing, the Kings shot just 50% from the field and 32.4% from 3. Utah’s defense should be able to hold up here, given the tired legs for Sacramento on a quite exhausting back-to-back and its tendency to shoot the outside shot – the area where the Jazz have done their best work.
This is just far too many points to spot the Jazz, who are improving and coming off their biggest win over the season against the Dallas Mavericks. Even on the road, I expect this one to be closer.
Jazz vs Kings same-game parlay
Utah Jazz +10
Lauri Markkanen Over 18.5 points
Keegan Murray Over 7.5 rebounds
We’ll focus on two power forwards here that should be in friendly matchups.
The first is Markkanen, who will once again be asked to carry the scoring load here for Utah. We touched on the fact that the Kings have been dreadful against the 3-ball and weaker on defense in general of late, and that should aid Markkanen in his pursuit of just a third 19-point outing in essentially seven full games.
The Kings are allowing the most 3-pointers on average to the power forward position, further sweetening the pot for Markkanen.
Then, I’ll go with Keegan Murray to record eight or more boards for a second straight night and a ninth time in 14 games. Utah is without big man Walker Kessler, which will make an already-even matchup on the boards a bit arduous for the visitors, and if you’re not a believer in the Kings’ offense on no rest or the Jazz and their bottom-tier group of scorers, plenty of rebounding chances should present themselves.
Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.
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Jazz vs Kings odds
Jazz vs Kings live odds
Jazz vs Kings opening odds
- Spread: Utah +8.5 (-110) | Sacramento -8.5 (-110)
- Moneyline: Utah (+265) | Sacramento (-385)
- Over/Under: Over 224.5 (-110) | Under 224.5 (-110)
Odds courtesy of bet365
Jazz vs Kings spread and Over/Under analysis
- The Kings quickly moved to 9.5-point favorites upon opening, with the number rising as high as 11 before settling back down a bit in the last few hours.
- A slight 51% of the bets and 56% of the money are on the Kings to cover.
- The total jumped up to 230.5 points and then 231.5 before settling back at 230.5
- The Over has accounted for 58% of the tickets and 67% of the handle.
Jazz vs Kings trend
The Sacramento Kings have hit the 4Q Game Total Under in 45 of their last 76 games (+13.30 Units / 15% ROI). Find more NBA betting trends for Jazz vs. Kings.
How to watch Jazz vs Kings
| Location: | Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA |
| Date: | Saturday, 11-16-2024 |
| Tip-off: | 10:00 p.m. ET |
| TV: | NBCSCA, KJZZ |
Jazz vs Kings latest injuries
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