Kings vs. Jazz Preseason Preview: By the Numbers

The Sacramento Kings visit the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night for more preseason action.

Mar 31, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George (3) dribbles against Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox (left) during the first quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The Sacramento Kings return to action tonight at 6:00 p.m. PT, still looking for their first preseason win. Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz are 3-1 in the preseason, making for a lopsided matchup record-wise.

Preseason wins don’t count, but after a disappointing outing against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Kings need to at least show improved play tonight in Utah.

Sacramento struggled with taking care of the ball on Sunday with 26 turnovers leading to 33 points for the Blazers. That should be easier tonight against a Jazz team averaging 16.3 points off turnovers, 26th in the league during preseason play.

From a numbers perspective, the other area of focus is the Kings' slow start from beyond the arc.

The Kings have quite literally been the worst 3P shooting team during the preseason
3PM: 8.3 (31st)
3PA: 33.7 (27th)
3P%: 24.8% (31st)

Do they bounce back from beyond the arc tonight?

— Will Z. Stats (@will_zimmerle) October 15, 2024

Sacramento was among the league leaders in three-point attempts last season, coming in third with 39.3 attempts per game. They’re currently without Kevin Huerter and Trey Lyles, two of their higher-volume three-point shooters, especially Huerter.

The low shooting percentage of 24.8 percent doesn’t scare me, as that is likely to come around with the skill of the Kings shooters. What is more concerning is the low volume of looks from three.

Malik Monk hinted that the Kings are holding back from beyond the arc, so this could be a preseason anomaly.

I asked Malik Monk about the low 3pt shooting numbers.

His answer: "it's preseason. We can't show everything."

— Matt George (@MattGeorgeSAC) October 14, 2024

The Jazz are led by a popular trade target of the offseason Lauri Markkanen. The 27-year-old forward is picking up right where he left off with 18.7 points and 4.7 rebounds on 45.9 percent shooting from the field and 41.7 percent from three.

There’s a reason multiple teams, including the Kings, were interested in the talented forward and why the Jazz ended up giving him the big contract extension.

No preseason game is a must-win, but back-to-back poor performances would be disappointing leading up to the regular season. Look for the Kings to get back on track and be at least competitive tonight.

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