Jazz at Kings
THE STORY:
Winning on the road has been a complete struggle for the Utah Jazz, who
are 3-11 away from home as they begin the second half of the campaign
by visiting the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday. Overall, the Jazz have lost
eight of their last 10 games to drop into last place in the Northwest
Division. Sacramento had only 12 home games prior to the All-Star break
and is hoping to vastly improve over the second half. The Kings have the
second-worst record in the Western Conference.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, ROOT Sports (Jazz), CS California (Kings)
ABOUT THE JAZZ (15-17):
Perhaps the sight of the Kings will spruce up struggling Gordon
Hayward. The second-year forward had 21 points against the Kings on Jan.
28 for one of his three 20-point outings of the campaign. The six-game
stretch leading into the break was brutally bad for Hayward as he never
once scored in double digits and averaged only 5.3 points. Utah keeps
waiting for the promising 21-year-old to emerge. He is averaging 9.4
points.
ABOUT THE KINGS (11-22): Sacramento has had a rough season but there
was big news off the court Monday when it was announced the franchise
has reached a tentative deal to finance a new arena and keep the Kings
from relocating. The Maloof brothers who own the team and Sacramento
Mayor Kevin Johnson (the former NBA All-Star guard) met with NBA
commissioner David Stern during the All-Star break in Orlando and
hatched the plan. Sacramento’s City Council is slated to vote on it
March 6. The Kings nearly moved to Anaheim after last season.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Utah has won four of the last five meetings, including a 96-93 home win over the Kings on Jan. 28.
2. Sacramento center DeMarcus Cousins has 20 double-doubles and ranks fifth in the league in rebounding (11.3).
3. Jazz backup forward Jeremy Evans won the slam-dunk competition held in conjunction with the All-Star game.