Kings gameday live: Gobert, Conley out for Utah Jazz; Sabonis ruled out for Sacramento
When the Kings look back on their schedule, they will have little trouble pointing to games that could have given them the additional wins they needed to make a serious push for the playoffs. Looking ahead at the games they have left, it’s far more difficult to find those wins.
The teams the Kings hoped to catch in the Western Conference play-in race are vulnerable with four weeks remaining in the regular season. The San Antonio Spurs, Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans and even the Los Angeles Lakers all have problems, but Sacramento has problems of its own.
The Kings will continue an extremely daunting stretch of their schedule when they visit the Utah Jazz on Saturday night at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. Then they will return to Sacramento face the Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns.
The Kings (24-44) are 13th in the West with 14 games remaining. They are 2 ½ games behind the San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers and 3 ½ games behind the New Orleans Pelicans for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.
Sacramento is listing Maurice Harkless (ankle) and Jeremy Lamb (hip) as questionable against the Jazz. Richaun Holmes, who missed the past two games due to personal reasons, is expected to be available.
The Jazz (41-24) will be home on the second night of a back-to-back after losing to the Spurs on Friday. Utah could be without Bojan Bogdanovic, who missed Friday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs due to a right lower leg contusion. The Jazz is fourth in the West after winning 11 of 15 to get within 3 ½ games of the Golden State Warriors for the No. 3 seed.
The Kings could have gained significant ground on the teams they’re chasing over the past three weeks, but they have lost three in a row and eight of their last 10.
The Pelicans, who are missing Zion Williamson (foot), Brandon Ingram (hamstring) and now CJ McCollum (health and safety protocols), have lost four in a row. The Blazers, who are missing Damian Lillard (core), Jusuf Nurkic (foot) and now Anfernee Simons (knee), have lost six in a row.
The Spurs had lost five of six before beating Utah on Friday to give coach Gregg Popovich his NBA-record 1,336th career win. The Lakers beat the Warriors on Saturday and the Wizards on Friday behind 50-point games from LeBron James, but they’ve still lost nine of 12 without Anthony Davis.
Sabonis out
Kings center Domantas Sabonis has been ruled out for Saturday’s game against the Jazz due to personal reasons. Sabonis will miss his second game in a row after serving a one-game suspension in Wednesday’s loss to the Denver Nuggets.
Bogdanovic returns
Bogdanovic is expected to be available for the Jazz after missing Friday’s game against the Spurs with a leg injury. Bogdanovic is averaging 18.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
Udoka Azubuike is out with a right ankle injury. Trent Forrest is questionable due to a right wrist sprain.
Gobert, Conley ruled out
Jazz point guard Mike Conley and center Rudy Gobert have both been ruled out.
Gobert, who is averaging 15.4 points and 14.7 rebounds, is out with a phalangeal joint sprain of the first metatarsal in his left foot. Conley, who averages 13.3 points and 5.2 assists, is being held out for rest.
Note: Check back throughout the day for updates on tonight’s game between the Kings and Jazz.
Sacramento Kings at Utah Jazz
When: 6 p.m.
Where: Vivint Arena
TV: NBC Sports California
Radio: Sports 1140 KHTK
Odds: Jazz -10.0
Over/under: 231.5
Injury report
Kings: QUESTIONABLE — Maurice Harkless (ankle); Jeremy Lamb (hip). OUT — Terence Davis (wrist).
Jazz: QUESTIONABLE — Trent Forrest (wrist). OUT — Udoka Azubuike (ankle).
This story was originally published March 12, 2022 at 4:00 AM.
