Utah Jazz

Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (foot) is considered questionable for Saturday's matchup against the Heat. He was out of the lineup for the ninth time this season on Thursday against Orlando, having sustained a right foot sprain. Luka Samanic broke into the rotation without Kessler on Thursday, posting eight points and four rebounds in 12 minutes, but he's far from a good fantasy option. Saturday's matchup, in general, is an ugly one for the Jazz bigs, as Miami has Bam Adebayo, a four-time All-Defensive Second Team member, roaming around. With him guarding the paint, the Heat have limited centers to a league-low 19.0 points per 48 minutes this season.

Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (foot) is out for Thursday's matchup against the Orlando Magic. Kessler hasn't been inactive since Dec. 11, but a sprained right foot will keep him out on Thursday. The 22-year-old paint presence's role in head coach Will Hardy's rotation and an oversized Jazz frontcourt has fluctuated all season long, and over his last 13 contests (four starts), he's logging only 21.6 minutes per game but averaging 8.8 points on 66.2% shooting from the field, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.8 swats. His next chance to return arrives on Saturday against the Miami Heat. The stifling Magic defense ranks sixth in the NBA in opponent points per game (110.3), so while there's added fantasy value on the table for Jordan Clarkson as Utah's clear-cut sixth man on Thursday, it's an imposing matchup that could shy away DFS rostership on the eight-game slate.

The Atlanta Hawks have waived veteran guard Patty Mills. The 35-year-old leaves the team after averaging just 10.6 minutes of action across 19 games in 2023-24. The team made the move to covert Trent Forrest's two-way contract into a standard deal. Forrest, who's playing his fourth year in the league, has had a similar role to Mills, featuring in 20 games and averaging 10.5 minutes, but he's a much younger player and could offer a lot more to the team going forward. However, Forrest has yet to make an impact in the NBA, with his career averages standing at 2.8 points and 1.7 assists.

Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (foot) finds himself with a questionable tag ahead of Thursday's matchup against Orlando. The Atlanta-born giant has been ever-present for Utah since Dec. 11 but might have to come out of the lineup on Thursday due to a right foot sprain. The Jazz have a pretty crowded frontcourt, but Kessler has been getting consistent work as a backup center. He's posted 8.4 points and 7.3 rebounds with 2.7 blocks in 23.2 minutes this season. Kessler's absence could help Omer Yurtseven back into the rotation, but starting bigs Taylor Hendricks, John Collins, and Lauri Markkanen should soak in most of the available minutes.

Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton put up a season-high in a three-point loss to the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night. Before everyone headed into the NBA All-Star break, Sexton decided to drop 35 points, nine assists, three rebounds, one steal, one rebound, and three turnovers on 10-for-18 shooting overall, 3-for-8 from deep, and 12-for-13 from the free throw line. Sexton has finally started to look a little more like he did in Cleveland before he got hurt and then traded. He's now averaging 17.9 points, 4.6 assists, 2.6 rebounds, 1.6 made threes, and 1.9 turnovers per game. He has almost cracked the top 100 in terms of per-game fantasy value in nine-category leagues.