Utah

Jazz

Calayton Jr. is enjoying a nice stretch to begin the new calendar year. Thursday’s solid performance gives him back-to-back games with double-digit points and four three-pointers. He logged north of 20 minutes in each of these games, which, notably, weren’t garbage-time minutes. The former national champion with the Florida Gators seems to be firmly in the nightly rotation at this point, with each productive performance likely helping him maintain his spot.

George had a relatively average game production-wise, finishing with fewer than 20 points for only the 12th time this season and less than two three-pointers for the 11th time. He was his usual productive self as a facilitator, leading Utah in assists for the game. And he was also active on defense, finishing as Utah’s leader in steals, ultimately helping his final line stand out a bit more. George has been stellar throughout his third NBA season and should continue to perform well moving forward.

Markkanen followed up his 29-point, 13-rebound double-double against OKC with another high-scoring performance against the Mavs. Inefficient three-point shooting and struggles from the free-throw line ultimately were the only things to slow his production. Markannen led all scorers and was the only player to take the floor and finish with multiple blocks. He’ll be back at it on Saturday against the Hornets.

The Jazz won’t have Jusuf Nurkić for Thursday’s game, as he is out with a toe injury. As a result, Love will step in as the starting center. The other change to the Jazz lineup is Williams, who replaces Svi Mykhailiuk in the starting five.

Initially questionable for Thursday’s game, Nurkić is now officially out. Kevin Love and Kyle Filipowski should see their minutes increase, with one moving into the starting lineup.

Bailey returned to action after a five-game absence on Wednesday, playing 10 minutes off the bench in a loss to the Thunder. His absence for Thursday’s game will not affect the starting lineup, as Brice Sensabaugh will retain that spot. However, no Bailey should mean more playing time for Taylor Hendricks and Cody Williams.

Love was rested on Wednesday’s game against the Thunder, so it makes sense that he would be good to go for the second leg of the back-to-back. With Jusuf Nurkic listed as questionable, it’s possible that Love could return to play around 20 minutes in this one.

Bailey missed five games with a hip injury but returned last night to play 10 minutes against the Thunder. The Jazz are clearly going to be cautious with their rookie, so they may sit Bailey for the second game of a back-to-back. That would likely mean more minutes for Brice Sensabaugh on Thursday.

Nurkić has played at least 30 minutes in each of the last two games, and scored 15 points with 15 rebounds against the Thunder last night. However, the Jazz have been selected in how they rest players, considering they are not in contention this season, but also are playing good basketball of late. If Nurkić were to sit on Thursday, that would likely mean more minutes for Kyle Filipowski since the Jazz don’t really have another traditional center.

The veteran center has been on a roll of late. Wednesday’s double-double marked his second straight, and also marked the sixth consecutive game in which he’s totaled at least 15 points. Inefficient shooting aside, he produced well in this game before fouling out. Nurkic remains a double-double threat even at this stage in his career and has the potential to log more strong performances, like Wednesday’s, going forward.