Utah isn't quite at the top tier of the Western Conference, but it finds itself ahead of four other teams, with a chance to host at least the first round of the playoffs. They're well clear of the potential for missing it, but they'd like to solidify that home court advantage when they travel to Sacramento on Wednesday night. The Jazz have struggled recently, losing four of their last six games. The Kings broke a four-game losing streak with two consecutive wins. Tipoff is set for 10:30 PM Eastern time and the contest can be seen on NBC Sports (CSN) California and ROOT Sports in Utah.
Jazz (45-29, 1st Northwest)
Utah has stumbled lately to keep a lot of the Western teams hoping to finish in the top four. They've won against a few teams out of the playoff hunt, but they've also lost four consecutive road games. The Jazz's average scoring output has been just 91 points in that losing stretch. They've also been giving up an average of 38.4 percent shooting from 3-point range in their last five games.
They'll be looking forward to getting back small forward Gordon Hayward (21.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg). He's been dealing with a quadricep injury and was not in the recent game, but should be back in this contest. Shooting guard Alec Burks (7.2 ppg) should also be returning after dealing with a personal matter.
Kings (29-45, 3rd Pacific)
Sacramento hasn't been a part of the playoff race for a while, sitting at just 13th in the standings. They've been able to take down a couple of likely playoff teams, the Clippers and Grizzlies, in back-to-back games earlier this week. The Kings are still getting outscored by nearly 10 points on average in their last five games.
Shooting guard Tyreke Evans (10.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg) is questionable for the contest with a knee injury. Its been a lingering issue that has kept him out of various games. Arron Afflalo (8.3 ppg) has been ruled out as he continues to deal with a personal matter.
Utah is favored by 7.5 points on the road and the total O/U is set at 195 points. The Jazz are 6-15-2 against the spread in the last 23 meetings against the Kings.