The Utah Jazz are already facing injury issues entering the start of the regular season, with starting center Jusuf Nurkić set to miss at least the first few weeks of the campaign. And while that shouldn't be detrimental to the team's early success, it will fundamentally change the way Utah has to play.
One option is sliding Jaren Jackson Jr. up to play more minutes at center, which will likely be the case. Obviously, Jaxson Hayes and other reserve bigs will have to play bigger roles until Nurkić returns, but one downstream effect of this injury that could actually play in Utah's favor is the opportunity to run more guard-heavy rotations.
And that's exactly what the Jazz should be leaning into, because this team has a talented backcourt rotation. It's young and somewhat inexperienced, but it's good.
Keyonte George and Darryn Peterson have the potential to be one of the more dynamic offensive backcourts in the league this season. George is coming off a breakout campaign and has already established himself as one of Utah's most important offensive pieces, while Peterson brings an entirely different level of scoring upside as a rookie.
Off the bench, Isaiah Collier is one of the better young reserve point guards in the league. He's poised, continues to improve with every season and should be in line for another productive year. And with Nurkić out, Collier could play an even bigger role despite operating at a completely different position on the floor.
That's because Utah should have opportunities to play smaller lineups with multiple guards on the court, particularly when Jackson Jr. is playing center.
Brice Sensabaugh is another bucket-getter off the bench who can operate on the perimeter and provide additional scoring. And when factoring in Josh Green and Josh Okogie as other options on the wing, there's plenty of flexibility for head coach Will Hardy to experiment with different combinations.
Even if George, Peterson, Collier and Sensabaugh are the core four players getting the bulk of those backcourt and perimeter scoring opportunities early in the season, that's a quality group. It's not necessarily the best in the league, but it's competitive and has the potential to get even better as the season progresses.
There are certainly defensive and rebounding concerns that come with playing smaller, especially in a Western Conference loaded with talented frontcourts. But Jackson Jr. is one of the most versatile defensive bigs in the NBA, and having him anchor those smaller lineups could help offset some of those disadvantages.
Ultimately, the Jazz should use Nurkić's absence as an opportunity to lean into their backcourt depth and get creative with rotations. That might mean more minutes for certain guards than originally expected, but that's part of the process.
Utah has invested heavily in building a talented young roster, and the opening weeks of the season provide an opportunity to see what some of these combinations can do together. Rather than simply trying to replace Nurkić's minutes with other traditional centers, the Jazz should embrace the opportunity to play smaller, faster and more guard-heavy basketball.