Pa Rory Maher | on October 31, 2026 at 2:54 p.m
The Jazz received good news on Saturday: Lauri Markkanen was upgraded from questionable to available for this morning’s game against Portland, per team (Link to Twitter).
Markkanen sprained his right wrist in the first quarter of Monday’s loss to Memphis and was unable to return. The Finnish forward was also ruled out of Wednesday’s overtime loss to San Antonio.
Injuries have been a problem for Utah this fall. Start center Yusuf Nurkich remains with a the question of the toesand a great man Jaren Jackson Jr there is expected to miss six to eight weeks after tearing the MCL of his right knee.
Here’s more from across the Northwest:
- Jazz security guard Darrin PetersonNo. 2 pick in this year’s draft, admits he was too “hesitant” in his first five NBA games, writes Shreyas Ladda of The Salt Lake Tribune. While Utah isn’t worried about Peterson’s slow start — the 19-year-old is shooting just 34.9 percent from the field early in the game — the team wants him to be more aggressive, Ladd points out. “He is a team player and wants to win“, head coach Will Hardy said. “He’s just caught a bit in between. I see him coming off the ball and he’s looking for his teammates and in those moments he’s the only one open. This is all very normal. … He’s being thrown right into the fire and I think he’s handling himself very well. I don’t want him to worry too much about the past. We had a few moments where he looked around and said, “I feel bad.” We don’t need to do that now. … I understand that he is dealing with a lot. That’s a lot going on. It’s a new team, a new coach, new terminology and game challenges. In addition to being a rookie in the NBA.“
- Oregon Senator Ron Wyden Speaks With Heat Owner and New Chairman of the Board of Governors Mickey Orison about conservation Trail Blazers in Portland, he told Bill Oram of The Oregonian (Link to Twitter). Wyden previously told Oram that he plans to call other owners to push the Blazers owner Tom Dundon to a deal to renovate the Moda Center and keep the team in Portland.
- Nuggets the wing Christian Brown set career highs in points (31) and three-pointers (seven) in Friday’s win against Phoenix, according to Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette. Brown, who is looking to recover for the 2026/27 season after an ankle injury that saw him miss long periods of last season, is also limited Devin Booker to 20 points on 19 field goal attempts on defense. “When I hit seven (threes), it’s a good sight to attack” said Brown, who was 5 of 21 from long range entering the game.I should do it more consistently. I have to do it more, do it better. Obviously today was a good day, but we have to do it again on Monday.”
