The Utah Jazz head into Friday night’s NBA Cup matchup with the Houston Rockets still short-handed, but not entirely empty-handed.
Utah’s latest injury report keeps several familiar names sidelined. Trey Alexander, Kobe Bufkin, and Harrison Ingram are all out on G League two-way assignments, while Jaren Jackson Jr. remains unavailable with a right knee MCL tear. Lauri Markkanen is also out after suffering a right hand fracture, and Jusuf Nurkic is sidelined with a right foot second plantar plate tear.
Markkanen’s absence is the biggest hit. He was ruled out earlier in the week, and the team expects him to miss time until early-to-mid December. The injury is a separate issue from the wrist problem he dealt with earlier this year, and the current timeline points to at least four weeks out, with the possibility of more.
Jackson Jr. and Nurkic have already been missing for multiple games, leaving Utah’s frontcourt thinner than usual. Nurkic, though, may not be too far from a return. The team said last week that the veteran center would be re-evaluated from his preseason foot injury in a couple of weeks, and that window is now approaching.
There is better news on the guard side. Keyonte George has been cleared completely after recovering from the ankle sprain that briefly knocked him out.
He had been listed as questionable before Utah’s last game against the Orlando Magic, but ended up playing. This time, he enters without any injury designation at all.
With George available, he and Darryn Peterson should handle the lead duties in the backcourt. Up front, the Jazz are likely to lean on Jaxson Hayes and Ace Bailey, with Josh Green or Josh Okogie expected to help fill out the wing rotation.
Tip-off is set for 6:30 PM MT on Friday night. Utah is looking for its second win of the season and its first in the four-game NBA Cup schedule.
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Coach Will Hardy and team sources have noticed the growth, but they are also treating this as the beginning of Petersons education, not the end of it. The offense has come quickly, and the next test is whether he can keep absorbing a bigger role while tightening up the parts of his game that still need work, a challenge that will go a long way toward determining just how far this opportunity can take him. [Read more 🡒]