Hard-Luck Utah Jazz Try To End Losing Skid; Sacramento Kings Unlikely To Give Way

Jordan Clarkson, Utah Jazz — Jordan Clarkson and the Utah Jazz try to end their losing spell when they host the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, Jan. 3. Chris Gardner/Getty Images

KEY POINTS

The Utah Jazz will have their hands full against the Sacramento Kings
The Kings will need good games from players like De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis
Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson are expected to lead the for the Jazz

The Utah Jazz and the Sacramento Kings will try to end their respective losing spells when they face each other on Tuesday, January 3 at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City at 9:00 PM ET.

The Kings are coming off a 108-118 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, January 1, shooting only 40.6% and giving up 64 points inside the paint.

Aside from that, Sacramento gave up 21 offensive rebounds to Memphis.

De'Aaron Fox led the Kings with 19 points and six assists in that loss to Memphis.

However, he also had five turnovers in the game.

Domantas Sabonis finished with a double-double of 18 points and 14 rebounds, while Harrison Barnes had 16 markers and five caroms in that loss to Memphis.

In all, Sacramento has been unpredictable this season and it appears they will be in for a battle on Tuesday against a team aching to get over a heartbreaking loss to the Miami Heat.

The Jazz dropped a humdinger of a game to the Miami Heat last time out, courtesy of a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Tyler Herro.

Regardless, the Jazz had a bad offensive outing, shooting just 43.2% from the field and 17-for-40 from beyond the arc.

Lauri Markannen has been performing well for the Jazz as of late, and against the Heat, he finished with 29 points and 14 rebounds.

Also proving to be reliable for the Jazz is Jordan Clarkson.

The Filipino-American sensation had 22 points and three assists in that loss. Meanwhile, Malik Beasley also did his share by chipping in 17 markers off the bench.

The Kings also have their work cut out of them against the Jazz, a team that has the fourth-highest offensive rating in the league with 116.3 points in 100 possessions.

Sacramento is also converting 14.6 triples per game for a 36.7% shooting clip and allowing opponents only 115.7 points per 100 possessions.

Hence, the Jazz are two-point favorites against the hosting Kings and oddsmakers are expecting a close match.

The game's over/under is set at 243.5.

The intriguing clash can be viewed via NBA League Pass and will be streamed live on fuboTV.