Kings at Jazz
The Utah Jazz have been hit hard by injuries but the effects haven't hurt the win-loss column as they look for their eighth victory in the past 10 games when they host the Sacramento Kings on Saturday. Standout small forward Gordon Hayward (finger) is listed as probable after sitting out Thursday's 106-99 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Getting Hayward back would help the thin unit that will be without point guard George Hill (toe) for the fifth straight game and Utah is hopeful of getting shooting guard Rodney Hood (hamstring) back after he missed the Golden State contest. The Jazz also will be without power forward Derrick Favors (knee) for the 13th straight game and haven't had the services of backup guard Alec Burks (ankle) all season but somehow have been able to enjoy success despite being so shorthanded. "I think we've got a group that has character," Jazz coach Quin Snyder told reporters. "Over a longer period of time, it becomes more challenging." Sacramento fell for the fourth time in the past five games with Friday's 103-100 loss to the New York Knicks and is just 4-8 on the road.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, CSN California (Sacramento), ROOT (Utah)
ABOUT THE KINGS (8-14): The organization thought volatile veteran small forward Matt Barnes would be a good fit partly because he grew up in Sacramento but he has become a distraction amid published reports that he could be arrested due to an incident that occurred after Sunday's loss to the Knicks in New York. The 36-year-old Barnes has been accused of choking a woman in a nightclub during an incident in which standout center DeMarcus Cousins is alleged to have punched the woman's boyfriend. Barnes watched Friday's game in street clothes but coach Dave Joerger said it wasn't for disciplinary reasons but for rest, saying "he's not a spring chicken."
ABOUT THE JAZZ (14-10): The injuries led Utah to have just one regular starter (center Rudy Gobert) in the lineup against Golden State as the other starters were forwards Boris Diaw and Joe Johnson and guards Dante Exum and Shelvin Mack. Forward Joe Ingles served as the sixth man and made a career-best five 3-pointers while scoring a season-best 21 points and Johnson said the shuffling should be fine with every player. "This is our profession, man," Johnson told reporters. "This is what we signed up for. This is what we do. When your number's called, you've got to be ready regardless of the circumstances."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Jazz have won six of the past nine meetings.
2. Sacramento SG Arron Afflalo has fallen out of the rotation and not played in the past two contests on the heels of six straight single-digit scoring efforts.
3. Gobert is averaging 21 points and 14 rebounds over the past two games and has reached double digits on the boards in nine consecutive contests.