Utah Jazz

Utah Jazz forward/center John Collins (face) will play against Houston on Saturday. The team has upgraded him from questionable to available. Collins returns from a one-game absence, pushing Walker Kessler back to the bench. It's been a strong month for Collins, as the former Hawk has averaged 16.8 points and 8.5 rebounds with 1.5 blocks. He faces a good defensive team on Saturday, but the game is projected to be fairly high-scoring, and there should be plenty of opportunities for Collins to fill the stat sheet.

Utah Jazz forward/center John Collins (face) has been labeled as questionable for Saturday's matchup against Houston. Collins is still dealing with the facial contusion he suffered when Anthony Edwards posterized him on Monday. He played the next game against the Thunder on Wednesday but was absent when the team also took the court on Thursday versus Dallas. Walker Kessler filled Collins' position as the starting center on Thursday and will likely do so again on Saturday if Collins can't play. Kessler had 14 points on perfect 7-for-7 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds against the Mavericks' well-equipped frontcourt. The Rockets have struggled to tame big men all season long, and we can expect Kessler to improve on Thursday's performance.

Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson (groin) will miss a sixth consecutive game on Saturday against the Rockets. He's nursing a groin strain, and the team has no reason to rush him back after Utah decided to pull the plug on the season. With Clarkson out of commission, Kris Dunn has received a larger role on the team and is looking at a fifth consecutive start on Saturday. Talen Horton-Tucker has had more opportunities as well, while Clarkson's absence boosts the usage of Keyonte George and Collin Sexton on offense. The latter is riding a six-game 20-point streak ahead of Saturday's matchup, and George has also carried a good amount of fantasy value since starting life as a regular starter on Feb. 12.

Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (quadriceps) will once again come out of the lineup Saturday against Houston for injury maintenance purposes. The 2023 All-Star recently returned from a quadriceps injury, but the team is balancing his workload, and Markkanen has yet to play in two consecutive games since coming back. Brice Sensabaugh and Taylor Hendricks have a chance to pick up more minutes without Markkanen, while his absence is bound to boost the offensive usage of Keyonte George and Collin Sexton. Houston has the eighth-best defensive rating in the league, but George and Sexton should still be able to fill the box score on Saturday night, as the Rockets also like to push the pace.

Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (quadriceps) isn't on the injury report for Thursday's game against the Dallas Mavericks. After sitting out six consecutive contests from March 4 to March 16 due to a right quadriceps contusion, Markkanen is good to go on the second night of Utah's back-to-back after also missing Wednesday's loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder for maintenance purposes. The 29-40 Jazz are likely to continue managing Markkanen's load down the stretch of a lost season, but the All-Star stretch four is in a good spot on Thursday against a Dallas team allowing the sixth-most fantasy points per game to opposing power forwards. Markkanen is a set-and-forget play when healthy, returning second-round value in nine-category leagues this season on averages of 23.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 3.2 three-pointers while shooting 89.0% from the free-throw line over 52 appearances.