The Utah Jazz are heading into the first few weeks of the 2026-27 regular season without Jusuf Nurkic, and that puts one of their biggest frontcourt strengths on pause right away.
Nurkic is expected to miss time while recovering from a foot injury he suffered in preseason, leaving Utah without the center projected to start after the club dealt away Walker Kessler just a few months ago. The Jazz should have enough talent to stay afloat early, but the area that has head coach Will Hardy paying closest attention is the one that can’t be faked for long: rebounding.
Hardy addressed the issue after practice on Saturday and made it clear he has seen both the good and the not-so-good from his group on the glass.
"I think there have been positive moments, and I think there have been frustrating ones," Hardy said of the Jazz's rebounding, "In the first game at Denver, coming into halftime and seeing Ace and Keyonte each with four rebounds was a good indicator of perimeter players rebounding. I think we've also had some moments when we've needed more."
He also stressed that rebounding is more than just tallying up numbers.
"It's about the types of rebounds, too. Not all rebounds are the same.
We need our smaller players to do a great job tracking the ball around the free-throw line. They need to do a great job digging out the second ball.
The first one comes off the rim, gets tipped by two people in the air, and we've got to be able to clean up that miss."
Utah was solid on the boards last season, finishing 16th in the league in total rebounds and even cracking the top 10 in offensive rebounds. So there is evidence this group can hold its own when healthy.
That’s the catch. Health has been a problem already, and the Jazz are only a couple of weeks away from opening against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Nurkic, who was Utah’s best rebounder on the roster and the only player signed to average more than 10 boards per game last season among those with at least 10 games played, is out for multiple weeks. The next closest rebounder is Kyle Filipowski at 7.2, and he has not played a preseason minute because of injury as well.
That leaves Hardy and the Jazz leaning on a collective answer rather than a single fix.
"It's going to remain an emphasis for us. Nurkic was a luxury from a defensive rebounding standpoint, and we don't have one person who can make up all that ground," Hardy continued.
"Everybody is going to need to participate more. Each person needs to get one more rebound for us to make up for the loss of Nurkic."
Once the roster gets back to full strength, Utah should regain some of that edge on the glass with Nurkic back in the middle of it all. For now, though, the Jazz will have to piece it together.
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Jazz Frontcourt Suddenly Looks Murkier Than Expected Before Opening Night
The Jazzs frontcourt has become a little less certain as opening night approaches, with Kyle Filipowski still working his way back after a summer back procedure and Jusuf Nurkic unavailable while he deals with a toe injury. Filipowski has been cleared for training camp, but he has not been part of Utahs preseason games, leaving the team to lean more heavily on the rest of its big-man rotation while it waits for bodies to return.
Will Hardy said Filipowski is progressing through rehab and is expected back soon, which at least gives Utah some hope that the picture will improve in the near term. Even so, the timing matters for a Jazz team trying to sort out roles and combinations before the regular season begins, especially with Nurkic set to be out for a stretch that stretches beyond the immediate preseason window. [Read more 🡒]
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For a young Jazz group trying to build momentum, any chance to get another promising piece back on schedule matters. Sensabaugh described the issue as precautionary and said he is ready to return, leaving Utah with a useful bit of good news as it heads toward its next preseason matchup with San Antonio. [Read more 🡒]