Utah rests Lauri Markkanen, the second during a critical tank matchup against the Nets
The Utah Jazz will be without several starters during Friday’s home game with Brooklyn Nets. Lauri Markkanen (vacation), Jusuf Nurkic (illness) and Kevin Love (illness) have been ruled out, which has significant implications for the draft lottery race.
Markkanen recently missed seven games due to illness and conditioning period to return to the game. He returned in the Jazz’s last two games, a 115-103 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday and a 140-124 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.
The Jazz star will get the night off during Friday’s critical tank matchup with Brooklyn. He averaged 27.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists on 47.9 percent shooting from the field and 36.4 percent from three in 35 appearances this season.
Utah is 14-12 with Markkanen in the lineup and 1-12 with him out.
Lauri Markkanen rests for the Jazz during the tank matchup against the Nets
The Jazz sit in sixth place draft lottery list in a sequence of 1-8. They enter Friday’s matchup two games behind the Nets and Washington Wizards, who are tied for fourth place. Utah owes its 2026 top-eight first-round pick to the protected Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Nets have lost seven straight and 15 of their last 17 games. They enter Friday’s matchup for the second night of back-to-back games after a 107-103 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday. Michael Porter Jr. likely won’t play against the Jazz, as he was active against Denver and hasn’t played back-to-back games all season.
The Nets are 12-26 with Porter in the lineup this season. They are 0-8 in games he has missed by an average margin of defeat of 16.1 points.
2026-01-30 19:03:00
