Lauri

Markkanen

Markkanen appears to be on track to play Monday night after sitting out Friday’s loss to the Grizzlies. His return would likely mean that John Konchar comes off the bench, which limits Konchar’s already-low fantasy value.

Markkanen’s final injury listing should come as no surprise, after previously being downgraded from questionable to doubtful. Friday’s absence will mark the 16th of the season for the versatile forward, who is having one of his better seasons. With him out of the lineup for a second consecutive game, Brice Sensabaugh should continue to log heavy minutes and see more of the offensive load.

Initially questionable for Friday’s game, Markkanen is now on track not to play. If he sits, there should be more minutes available to Kyle Filipowski and Svi Mykhailiuk, with the former offering higher fantasy upside.

Markkanen is a late addition to the injury report, which doesn’t bode well for his availability against Memphis. With the star forward potentially on the shelf, fantasy managers can stream Kyle Filipowski in a favorable matchup. Svi Mykhailiuk could see a bump in playing time, too.

Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee) is out for the season, and the Jazz were already sitting their stars in the fourth quarter. It was only a matter of time before Markkanen started missing games, and Thursday’s matchup with Portland surely won’t be the last of the 2025-26 campaign. Kyle Filipowski should be in line for big minutes tonight, and he’s worth streaming for the small, three-game slate.

Markkanen has not exceeded 27 minutes since a February 1 loss to the Raptors, when he played 39, and he was on the floor for 21 minutes on Wednesday. Of course, his playing time on Wednesday was influenced by the game being a blowout, but the recent decrease in playing time lowers Markkanen’s fantasy ceiling. Twenty-five minutes of Markkanen is better than 30-plus minutes of many other forwards in fantasy basketball, but Utah’s focus on the draft lottery has done managers no favors.

While teammate Isaiah Collier played all 48 minutes, Markkanen didn’t even play half that. The Jazz forward logged 23 minutes in Atlanta, and that’s one of the concerns for fantasy managers who have him rostered. The good news is that Markkanen actually played, unlike Jusuf Nurkić, who was active. Hopefully, for the sake of those who have Lauri rostered, the Jazz will rule him out when he isn’t playing, rather than resorting to the Nurkić-related shenanigans of the last two games.

On a day when the Jazz added Jaren Jackson Jr. to the fold, Markkanen provided a reminder of what the rebuilding team already has. The Jazz forward was efficient on offense, doing his damage in 27 minutes on a night when Utah only played seven players. The concern for fantasy managers is Markkanen’s availability after the trade deadline. Using his last few games to entertain sell-high possibilities would be a good idea.

Markkanen’s 27 points were a game-high, but it wasn’t enough to lead the Jazz to a win Sunday against the Raptors. The 28-year-old power forward returned from a rest day Friday, but wasn’t very efficient with his 27 points coming on 23 field goal attempts, which included a 2-of-9 showing from behind the three-point line. Markkanen has provided second-round value over the last two weeks. The Jazz have three games in Week 16, starting with a matchup against the Pacers on Tuesday.

Markkanen did not play in Friday’s loss to the Nets, with Cody Williams filling the void after not playing against the Warriors two nights prior. If Jusuf Nurkić (illness) can play, Svi Mykhailiuk and Kyle Filipowski will likely head to the bench, with Williams remaining in the starting lineup.