Adversity has come in many forms for the Utah Jazz to begin the 2026-27 season, both on the individual and team level.
Injuries to Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jusuf Nurkic have forced head coach Will Hardy to adjust the team’s frontcourt rotation, while an extended shooting slump hurt the team’s offense in the early going.
Lauri Markkanen hasn’t avoided the adversity, as the Finnish big man suffered a right wrist sprain in Utah’s fourth game of the season, which has forced him to play through pain and a heavy wrap on his shooting wrist. And yet, Markkanen’s main focus is being out there for his team to help turn the season around.
“It’s something you have to deal with,” Markkanen said postgame Friday when asked about playing through pain. “I want to be out there for my teammates and try to first get one win and start building off that. No matter what I need to do to get out there, that’s what I’m trying to do.”
Markkanen has not only played through the uncomfortable circumstance, but he’s also done so while playing the five spot, a result of Utah’s limited frontcourt rotation and a desire to help generate offense through his shooting and floor-spacing.
Through the first nine games of the season, Markkanen has played center for 104 possessions per Cleaning The Glass, which removes garbage-time minutes. For reference, Markkanen played 133 such possessions last season and a combined 103 possessions at center between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 campaigns.
Simply put, despite being in year 10, It’s a new position for Markkanen to adjust to on the fly.
“I haven’t gotten that many minutes or reps, but the NBA is all about adjusting, watching film, and trying to figure out things you can do,” Markkanen said Friday. “I’ve played (center) a lot more the last two games and I can keep improving.”
As expected, there have been moments where the lineups with Markkanen at center have thrived, and others where those groups have struggled to keep pace with opponents. However, the shift to center for The Finnisher has been an adjustment to the team’s early adversity and a reflection of Markkanen’s desire to do anything to help his team win.
“He’s digging in,” Jazz head coach Will Hardy said following the overtime loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. “I think he’s playing through a lot of pain, he’s really battling for his teammates and for us. He doesn’t play a ton of five in general… he’s doing a pretty good job.”
In that game against the Pelicans, the Jazz relied on Markkanen’s shot-making and overall gravity to generate offense down the stretch. With Keyonte George on a heater (39 points in the game), the two-man game was an effective combination in the final minutes of regulation and first few minutes of overtime, even if a couple of the shots didn’t fall.
Markkanen has found a rhythm from deep this month, knocking down 17 3-pointers in Utah’s three November games, including an 8-of-15 effort against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.
“When we play our style of basketball, everyone moves the ball and it’s going to find me,” Markkanen said postgame Friday night. “We have plenty of off-ball screens and you’re going to get some good looks, and if you make a couple, it adds more to it and you want to keep moving more.”
On the season, the 29-year-old has connected on 39.7 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc while taking 9.1 per contest, a rate that would set a new career-high. While most of the rotation is pushing through a shooting slump, Markkanen has been dialed in from deep to begin the new campaign, which has been a welcomed and much-needed sight for Utah’s offense.
The other side of the coin in the minutes Markkanen is at center is creating groups that can be effective defensively. Once again, it’s a significant adjustment for the veteran, who recognizes the shift in responsibility on that end of the floor when playing the five spot.
“The coverages are different at (the) five,” Markkanen said. “There are different coverages on ball screens… fives are not shooting the ball as much, so I’m learning when I can help. It’s different coverages and personnel you need to adjust to, but I’m working on it.”
Markkanen’s efforts aren’t going unnoticed in the locker room. With the group shorthanded for the time being, the 2023 All-Star has embraced different roles in hopes of helping the Jazz find some momentum.
“Lauri is the head of the snake, we go as he goes,” George said following the game in New Orleans. “He’s able to go from the three, to the four, and then to the five, a position he hasn’t played much since I’ve been here… Kudos to Lauri, he’s able to adjust and he’s doing whatever the team needs to win.”
Utah’s defensive rating in the small sample of minutes when Markkanen has been at the five spot has been slightly better than the group’s overall defensive rating on the season, but there are areas for improvement in those situations, most notably on the defensive glass.
Given the lack of experience Markkanen has playing the position as well as the group’s unfamiliarity in constructing such lineups, there’s reason to believe that such combinations can become another pitch that Utah can throw during the course of the regular season.
“It was just fun to have him at the five, for sure,” George said. “It was definitely different, but it’s going to be fun. It will take some time for us to figure that type of lineup out, but now we have the film and can learn from it.”