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1. How good are the Sacramento Kings without DeMarcus Cousins?
I don’t know about you, but I haven’t found any time in the day to watch the Kings since they traded DeMarcus Cousins for They weren’t ever all that good with him, so I can’t imagine they could be much better without him. They do have who they believe is the next Stephen Curry on their team though.
Source familiar w/ Kings’ thinking: "Vivek thinks Buddy [Hield] has Steph Curry potential.” Am told that fixation was a key driver in deal.
— Baxter Holmes (@BaxterHolmes) February 20, 2017
2. Sunday Best
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The Jazz are 3-1 in Sunday Matinee Games™ (Games played earlier than 7 PM local time on Sundays). Don’t let anyone tell you that these early-start games aren’t different for players. I think the Jazz go into these games with a different mindset since they play fewer Sunday games than anyone in the league. Today’s game tips at 4:00PM MST so expect the Jazz to be ready to make quick work of the Kings so they can get to The Cheescake Factory in time for dinner.
3. Score-don Hayward
Gordon Hayward averaged 25.5 PPG in February, the best scoring month of his NBA career. In two games this month (at home vs. two of the worst teams in the league, mind you) he is averaging 12.5 PPG. Two bad shooting games isn’t the end of the world but if he strings together three, people are going to start calling it a slump. Let’s see if Gordo can get back to his February scoring form.
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4. Where’s Rodney?
Rodney Hood has been out two games with knee soreness. He’s listed as questionable today. If he does play he would likely be on a soft minutes restriction. Is his injury history something the Jazz need to worry about down the stretch? Will we see him accumulate a few DNP-Rest(s) leading up to the playoffs? Get well, Rodney!
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5. Derrick Not Doing Opponents Any Favors
Derrick Favors has elevated his play the past couple of games. He’s averaging 13.2 PPG in his last 5 games which is an increase over his season average of 9.6 PPG. If this more energetic version of Favors shows up today then Sacramento will have a tough time with Utah’s bigs. S/O to Rudy Gobert for being tough to handle as well.
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