It’s a battle between two of the top 10 offenses from last season, so we could probably expect a shootout. The Sacramento Kings won last season’s regular season series, 3-1.

Catch the game tomorrow, October 26th, at 9:00 AM, Manila time.

HOME: Utah Jazz (0-0)

Projected starting five:

  • Jordan Clarkson
  • Talen Horton-Tucker
  • Lauri Markkanen
  • John Collins
  • Walker Kessler

The Jazz enter the season as one of the more interesting teams in the league. Last season, they were levels better than what was expected, so being a year older could make them more mature and disciplined.

Lauri Markkanen headlines the Jazz with his size and smooth shooting. The 7-footer just is coming off a career year where he averaged 25.6 points per game and earned his first All-Star nod. He also put up 32 PPG in the ’22-23 season series vs. Sacramento.

There’s also plenty of help as Jordan Clarkson, Kelly Olynyk, Collin Sexton, and Talen Horton-Tucker are all very capable options, even newcomer John Collins. Then, on defense, there’s second-year center Walker Kessler, who just had one of the most impressive defensive seasons among rookies. He finished the year swatting 2.3 shots per game despite having limited minutes early on.

Utah was 7th in scoring in ’22-23 at 117.1 PPG, but had a -0.9 net rating.

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AWAY: Sacramento Kings (0-0)

Projected starting five:

  • De’Aaron Fox
  • Kevin Huerter
  • Keegan Murray
  • Harrison Barnes
  • Domantas Sabonis

The Kings ended last season with a Game 7 loss at home, but they are still riding high as it’s easily the franchise’s best and most fun season since the Chris Webber and Mike Bibby era of the early/mid 2000s.

Sactown is also score town as they are parading the most prolific offense from the previous year, averaging 120.7 PPG. All-Stars De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis remain as the feature guys, doing damage inside and out, while being supported by sharpshooter Kevin Huerter, microwave guard Malik Monk, veteran forward Harrison Barnes, and 2023 All-Rookie First Team Keegan Murray, who figures to have a more vital role in his second season.

New additions Chris Duarte and euro star Sasha Vezenkov should be taken into account as well. They are nice boosts to this already unforgiving offense. Lastly, there’s the 3-1 regular season series win against the Jazz from ‘22-23, and it’s sure to add to the Kings’ confidence.

PREDICTION:

Handicap: The Kings (-2) offense strut their stuff on the way to a cover-spreading victory.

Over/Under: The end-to-end scoring will be nice, but score goes under 237.5.

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