[""!LIVESTREAM!""] Jazz vs Kings Live Free Broadcast HD TV On 25 October 2023
The Utah Jazz welcome the Sacramento Kings to Delta Center Wednesday. Tip in the season opener for both teams is set for 9 p.m. ET. Kings vs Jazz Live Stream: How to Watch NBA Game Online From anywhere
CLICK HERE TO WATCH NBA LIVE FREE ONLINE
The Jazz were among the surprise teams in the league last season behind the eruption of F Lauri Markkanen. He averaged a career-high 25.6 points per game. They also added F John Collins, which should add another solid offensive weapon. Utah finished 12th in the NBA with a 37-45 record and were 23-18 at home.
The Kings also shocked most NBA fans, posting a 48-34 record, which was good for 3rd in the Western Conference. They were 25-16 on the road. Sacramento’s season ended when it lost to the Golden State Warriors in Game 7 of the 1st round of the playoffs. G De’Aaron Fox led the way last season, averaging 25.0 points and 6.1 assists per game.
Kings vs. Jazz Game Info
Game Day: Wednesday, October 25, 2023
Game Time: 9:00 PM ET
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Arena: Delta Center
TV Channel: Utah Jazz
The Kings posted a 25-16 road record last season. Only 1 other team in the Western Conference, the LA Clippers at 21-20, was above .500 away from home. Sacramento has a balanced roster, and its quickness should present a problem for the Jazz’s backcourt.
The Kings were 16-5 straight up last season as a home favorite. The Jazz did add Collins, but how he will work as more of a score-first forward is yet to be seen. Utah’s defense should struggle without many lockdown defenders.
As the market adjusted to the Jazz last season, their Over-covering rate cooled off, but they did manage a league-best 47-33-2 O/U. The Kings were 43-45-1 O/U.
However, neither team ranked top 10 in pace, and with such a high total in this 1st game, only considering going Over for a team that’s expected to get out and run frequently.
The NBA is back this week and the Sacramento Kings meet the Utah Jazz in a Western Conference battle on Wednesday night. The Kings went 48-34 last season and 45-36-1 ATS, on their way to earning the 3-seed before losing to the Warriors in the first round of the playoffs. Utah finished 37-45 and 47-33-2 ATS the spread last season, but missed the playoffs as the 12th seed in the West. Sacramento took three out of their four regular season matchups last year. The Kings are currently listed as 1-point road favorites. Tipoff is scheduled for 9:00 EST from the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
Sacramento guard De'Aaron Fox was an All-Star last season, and made Third Team All-NBA. The 25 year-old point guard hopes to continue to grow his game and lead his team out of the first round of the playoffs. Fox averaged 25.0 points per game last season to go with 6.1 APG and 4.2 RPG. The Kings will ask even more of Fox and center Domantas Sabonis this year as the team was not active in the offseason trade market.
Sabonis was also an All-Star and a Third Team All-NBA performer last season. The 6'10 center led the league in rebounding with 12.3 per game, and also added 19.1 PPG. The one-two punch of Fox and Sabonis has been efficient statistically, but postseason success will be expected if both stars can stay healthy. The formula for Sacramento is to surround their two stars with shooters to create spacing. Keegan Murray and Kevin Huerter each shot over 40% from three last season. Murray is a 6'8 forward who made First Team All-Rookie with 12.2 PPG, and Huerter added 15.2 PPG from the perimeter. Harrison Barnes is back for his 6th year with the Kings after starting all 82 games last season. Barnes is a solid role player who averaged 15.0 PPG last season. Malik Monk will be a spark off the bench, and JaVale McGee adds size in the frontcourt rotation.
Sacramento's tempo ranked 12th in the NBA according to ESPN's Hollinger team stats. They also had the most efficient offense in the league according to advanced metrics. The Kings added JaVale McGee, Chris Duarte from Indiana and drafted Colby Jones out of Xavier.
If a casual fan starts listing the best players in the NBA, it would take them a long time to get to Lauri Markkanen, but maybe it shouldn't. He is a multi-tool 7'0 forward who finished 12th in the NBA in scoring with 25.6 PPG. At only 26 years old, Markkanen still has time to improve his game. He was an All-Star and the Most Improved Player last season. He shot 39.2% from three last season, but will need more help from his teammates if Utah hopes to get out of the basement of the West.
Markkanen got the most help from starting guard Jordan Clarkson and his 20.8 PPG and 4.4 APG. Clarkson is back and will likely be a starter again after beginning his career as mostly a scorer off the bench. Collin Sexton is still trying to find his role, the guard can score, as he averaged 14.3 PPG last season, but he only started 15 of his 48 games, and may be best suited coming off the bench. Walker Kessler was a pleasant surprise inside for Utah, at 7'0 and 245 pounds the 22-year-old took over the starting role and finished the season averaging 9.2 PPG and 8.4 RPG. The biggest addition for Utah will be John Collins, he is a high-level athlete and at 6'9 he plays way above the rim. Collins averaged 13.1 PPG last season, and will likely form a tall starting lineup consisting of Markkanen, Collins and Kessler all on the floor at the same time.
Utah tied for the 9th fastest tempo in the league last season, and their offensive efficiency ranked 12th. Their top addition was John Collins, and they will see what they get out of their three rookies in Brice Sensabaugh (Ohio State), Keyonte George (Baylor) and Taylor Hendricks (UCF). Their biggest losses were Damian Jones, Rudy Gay and Udoka Azibuke.
The Kings are fresh off a very solid year. However, they are not satisfied with the way their season ended last year. The good news is the Kings return their whole starting lineup. De'Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, Kevin Huerter, Harrison Barnes, and Keegan Murray are all back. Malik Monk, and Trey Lyles also return, and they were big coming off the bench. Sacramento did not make any important additions to the squad, but they will still be a good team. With their ability to play together, and the team chemistry, the Kings are going to be able to win a lot of games.
Sacramento was a very high-scoring team last season, and nothing has changed. The Kings have the same exact team, just a year of playing together under their belt. That experience is only going to help this team, so the scoring should not change. With their ability to put up 120 points on a nightly basis, the Kings are going to be very hard to beat this season. If they can put up that number in this game, they should be able to cover the spread.
The Jazz were a surprise team last season. Although they did not make the playoffs, the Jazz winning 37 games was more than anybody thought. Lauri Markkanen was the NBA Most Improved Player last season as he scored over 25 points per game, and almost nine rebounds. Jordan Clarkson averaged exactly 20.0 points per game, as well. The Jazz had a total of eight players average in the double-digits last season. Now, they lost a few of those guys, but the Jazz still have their main core. It is hard to say whether or not Markkanen and Clarkson will play to that same ability, but if they do, the Jazz are going to have a good season.
Utah scored over 117 points per game last season. As mentioned, the Kings do a very good job scoring the basketball. The Jazz, however, have the ability to keep up offensively. Utah only won one of their games last season, but all featured some high-scoring. Utah will be able to cover this spread if they can keep up with the scoring the Kings do.
These two teams played in some good games last season. Both teams have pretty much the same team, as well. With that said, I do expect it to be a close game. In this game, the Jazz are the underdog by just 1.5 points, so it is very much expected to be a close game. However, I trust the Kings to play better than the Jazz. If it comes down to which team will play up to their ability, my money is on the Kings.