Jazz Ready For Season Opener Against Kings
Oct 17, 2018, 8:41 PM | Updated: 9:44 pm
SACRAMENTO, CA - JANUARY 17: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz goes up for a shot against Willie Cauley-Stein #00 of the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on January 17, 2018 in Sacramento, California.(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – After a 39-point blowout over the Sacramento Kings in the preseason finale last week, the Utah Jazz are all business for Wednesday’s regular season opener against the Kings.
Jazz Have Short-Term Memory
According to Jazz forward Derrick Favors, Utah has already forgotten about that less-than-close contest last Thursday.
“We have to forget about that game. That was a preseason game,” Favors told the Deseret News’ Eric Woodyard. “Now, we’re getting ready to go into the regular season where we’re playing them for real now, so we have to go in there with the right mentality and know that they’re going to come out ready.”
By The Numbers
Utah is riding a five game winning streak against the Kings, including a perfect three game sweep last season. Donovan Mitchell starred against Sacramento in his rookie year last season, averaging 29.7 points over the three games.
Sacramento will be led by Buddy Hield, who averaged 13.5 points per game last season. He was held to just seven points on 3-of-13 shooting on Thursday. The leading scorer for the Kings in that game was Marvin Bagley III, who contributed 17 points and eight rebounds in the blowout loss. Bagley was selected with the 2nd overall pick in this year’s draft out of Duke.
Injury Report
With the exception of Raul Neto, who is expected to miss a couple weeks with a hamstring injury, the Jazz are healthy and ready to start the season on the right foot. The Kings will be without Bogdan Bogdanovic who will be nursing a knee injury. Kings center Kosta Koufos is expected to be a game time decision with a hamstring injury of his own.
Game On
The game will tip off at 8 p.m. and be broadcast on AT&T SportsNet.
IT. HAS. ARRIVED. 🙌
🏀: #UTAatSAC
📺: @ATTSportsNetRM (Xfinity: 693, DirectTV: 683-1, Dish: 444, Hopper: 412-28)
📻: @zonesportsnet
📱: https://t.co/x3dminY1dn
⏰: 8:00PM MT
🎽: Association #TeamIsEverything pic.twitter.com/ogoYrX2A5n— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 17, 2018
