Utah

Jazz

Bailey missed the end of the preseason with bilateral knee soreness, so his appearance on the injury report for a different issue is a positive. However, the rookie is only questionable for Wednesday’s game. Brice Sensabaugh and Cody Williams are two players whose minutes may increase if Bailey cannot play, with Sensabaugh offering a higher fantasy upside.

Collier missed the entire preseason with a strained right hamstring, and he won’t be available when the Jazz open the regular season on Wednesday. The second-year guard will miss at least another week before he’s re-evaluated, leaving Keyonte George and rookie Walter Clayton Jr. to handle the point guard duties. While George was a player selected in standard league drafts, and with good reason, Clayton was only worth a late-round flier in redraft formats.

After offering limited production in his first action of the preseason on Monday, Filipowski was slightly better on Thursday. And his role changed, with the second-year forward/center starting while Taylor Hendricks (8/7/2 with one three-pointer in 24 minutes) came off the bench. Kyle offers a higher offensive ceiling, but Hendricks is the superior defender. While either one can begin the regular season as the starter, that may be a timeshare situation that limits the fantasy ceilings of both players.

While starting point guard Keyonte George only dished out two assists on Thursday, frontcourt starters Markkanen and Walker Kessler combined for 13. Markkanen, responsible for five helpers, shot the ball well and was a steal shy of a complete stat line. Lauri’s production has not been the concern for fantasy managers since he arrived in Utah; it has been the front office’s willingness to tank. While the front office said all the right things during the offseason regarding their desire to compete this season, the Western Conference is loaded, and a potential first overall pick (AJ Dybantsa) is playing not too far down the road at BYU. Those circumstances conspire to push Markkanen down some draft boards, even if he’s good enough to finish safely within the top-50 in fantasy basketball.

George, who averaged 5.6 assists per game last season, did most of his damage as a scorer in Utah’s preseason finale. Walker Kessler, taking on more of the facilitating duties and doing a good job of it, freed up George to hunt for his shot more, and he did so efficiently. With Isaiah Collier (hamstring) out and Walter Clayton Jr. (8/3/5/1 in 19 minutes) being a rookie, George may have the starting point guard job sewn up ahead of the October 22 regular season opener. If so, he’s a player worth selecting in standard league drafts just outside the first 100 picks, if not slightly earlier.

Limited by a left shoulder injury, Kessler saw his first action of the preseason on Thursday. And there were few, if any, signs of rust. More of the offense ran through the 7-footer, resulting in Kessler recording eight assists. The lack of turnovers was just as impressive, with Kessler only committing one. He only averaged 1.7 assists per game last season, recording five or more on five occasions, so fantasy managers should not overreact to Thursday’s performance. However, if Kessler is given more opportunities within the half-court to facilitate, that may raise his fantasy ceiling.

Kessler has been able to participate in practice, but he has been sidelined for their preseason games to this point. It would be nice to see him play in this game, but even if he doesn’t, it’ll be more important for him to be available when the regular season starts next week. Jusuf Nurkic should continue to start if Kessler remains out.

Bailey has been diagnosed with bilateral knee tendinopathy, which forced him to exit Monday’s preseason game early and will keep him out against Portland. Bailey’s status for the season opener next week is certainly in question at this point. Brice Sensabaugh is the likely candidate to replace Bailey in the starting unit, with Walter Clayton Jr. and Cody Williams likely to see more minutes as well.

Kessler has already been ruled out for Tuesday night’s preseason matchup with the Mavericks, and he participated in practice on Sunday. He’s continuing to progress well, so he should be available to start the regular season, even if he hasn’t been available for these exhibitions.

According to head coach Will Hardy, “It’s nothing that we’re overly concerned with. He’s not going to be getting imaged or anything like that. It’s just trying to take care of him. He was a little sore during his second stint.” It sounds like Bailey’s injuries aren’t major, but fantasy managers should keep a close eye on his status ahead of opening tip-off for the 2025-26 campaign. The rookie looked sharp in preseason play before bowing out of Monday’s matchup with Dallas early.