The Utah Jazz will take on the Sacramento Kings in a battle of differing objectives. The Kings have been underwhelming this season. They traded for DeMar DeRozan in hopes to take them to another level. In doing so, they’ve hurt their offense, filling the floor with subpar three-point shooting. The Kings have also gotten a disappointing season from Keegan Murray whose taken a step back from last season. All that has summed them up to be a team with an underwhelming offense that pairs with a mediocre defense. Their record being just under .500 seems about right. The direction being mediocre for years is established.
For Utah, they continue on the path towards superstardom in the draft. No other path will take this team to the championship goal they’ve set. The only issue for Utah is that they’ve won some games against good opponents to start this season. They can’t get wins against teams like the Kings, Mavericks, and Blazers if they want to be at the top of the lottery. Utah has to continue losing these games while also developing youth. So far, we’ve seen both those things happen, and the best thing is for Utah to just stay the course.
**Player to watch - Keyonte George**
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Because Keyonte George is the primary ballhandler each night, he’s going to get the most focus from fans. That’s great for when things are going well, but it also means he will get the most criticism when things go wrong. The biggest thing that the average fan, and the broadcast team, will talk about is the turnovers. The thing is, turnovers are part of the game for primary ballhandlers, you just want to keep them as low as possible. That said, George is averaging 3.2 turnovers per game. For context, George is #13 in the league in turnovers per 36 minutes. Not the best thing, but hardly as bad as some would make you think.
As for this game, Jazz fans should watch George’s vision and ball handling. He’s averaging a career-high 5.6 assists per game and is showing more and more that he can handle the point. If he can continue to establish the offense for his team and also score efficiently, it’s a sign of real improvement. The other thing to watch is how many actions George is going through per play; he’s getting better and better at going through the Jazz offense to find the biggest offensive advantage. It’s going well.
**How to Watch**
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Who: Utah Jazz vs. Sacramento Kings
When: December 8th, 7:00PM Mountain Time
Where: Golden 1 Center - Sacramento, CA
Watch: Jazz+, KJZZ