Jazz Pulling Out All Stops in Tank Game vs Nets

The Utah Jazz play the Brooklyn Nets in the second game of a back-to-back on Sunday. The Jazz are going all in on the tank. Utah has nine rotation players on the injury report.

Keyonte George, John Collins, Walker Kessler, Johnny Juzang, and Jordan Clarkson are out. Lauri Markkanen, Kyle Filipowski, and Brice Sensabaugh are questionable.

Jazz Injury Report:

QUESTIONABLE - Kyle Filipowski (right ankle sprain)

QUESTIONABLE - Lauri Markkanen (low back spasms)

QUESTIONABLE - Brice Sensabaugh (return to competition reconditioning)

OUT - Jordan Clarkson (left plantar fasciitis)

OUT - John Collins (left hip -…
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 12, 2025

Not to be outdone, the Nets will be missing Bojan Bogdanovic (foot), Cam Thomas (hamstring), Trendon Watford (hamstring), Cameron Johnson (ankle), and D’Angelo Russell (leg) are out. Also, Dariq Whitehead (concussion) is questionable.

The Jazz are putting the tank in motion much earlier than in the past. The most eye-opening decision is to sit Walker Kessler due to rest. Walker is arguably Utah’s most impactful player on the court, and resting their best defensive player sends the message that draft positioning trumps winning basketball games this season.

The highest draft pick the Jazz have been awarded since the rebuild started is the No. 9 pick used to select Taylor Hendricks in 2022. Last season, the highest pick was No. 10 overall, used for Cody Williams.

That said, something will still have to give with two franchises stacking up losses recently. The Nets have lost four straight and seven of their last eight games. Utah hasn’t been much better, losing three games in a row and eight of its previous 10.

This game will also have implications in the battle for draft position. Where it stands today, the Jazz have the fifth-best lottery odds while the Nets have the sixth. The Jazz are 3.5 games ahead of the Nets in the lottery standings.

This is the second and last time the two teams face off against each other this year. Led by Lauri Markkanen’s 21 points, the Jazz cruised to a 105-94 victory. Collin Sexton and Svi Mykhailiuk chipped in 18 points in what was Utah’s only seventh win of the year.

The oddsmakers see this one as close but give the Jazz a slight edge. DraftKings has Utah pegged as a 3.5 point favorite. The tip-off is at 6:00 pm MT.

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