The Utah Jazz's home opener and second game of the 2026-27 regular season campaign is right around the corner––and they'll be looking for a bounce-back performance against the New Orleans Pelicans, who have also started their new year off at an 0-1 record.
In front of a buzzing home crowd in Utah, and being rested up from their prior loss against the Memphis Grizzlies, there's good reason to have a bit more optimism for what this game could end up looking like for the Jazz.
However, in the midst of the Jazz's second game of their 82-game campaign, this team could benefit from a couple of small rotation adjustments; particularly to get two players more involved than they were against Memphis to patch some of the weaknesses they proved to have back on Wednesday.
Let's break down each case for the two Jazz players who deserve more minutes against the Pelicans on Friday night:
Kyle Filipowski
In the Jazz's season opener against the Grizzlies, it wound up being a pretty limited night for big man Kyle Filipowski, who only played in nine minutes off the bench to record three points on 1-2 shooting, along with one steal.
And the reason for Filipowski's limitations might be attributed to the ongoing ramp up from his offseason back surgery. He only played in one preseason game throughout Utah's four-game slate because he was still in the rehab process, yet was able to return to the lineup back in time for the regular season opener.
Perhaps Filipowski isn't fully ready to sustain a full workload coming off an injury. If that's the case, then maybe the Jazz shouldn't push Filipowski beyond his limits.
However, if at 100%, Utah should certainly hand their young big man a bigger share of the minutes in the frontcourt in an effort to offer more size, offensive versatility, and rebounding ability at the five.
The Jazz are slim in their big man rotation without Jusuf Nurkic, who's still stuck sidelined due to a foot injury he sustained in the preseason. It's tough to replace his presence on the front lines, but someone like Filipowski might be a bit of a band-aid on those troubles that immediately surfaced in Utah's opener in Memphis.
Last game, the Jazz were outrebounded by a whopping total of 55-38. Utah can't afford a repeat of that at home against New Orleans, and by playing someone like Filipowski, who led the team in total rebounds last season, that outcome on the boards could certainly change for the better.
Mo Bamba
The argument for Bamba's case to get more minutes for the Jazz against the Pelicans is relatively similar to why Filipowski is due for more run: Bamba provides more size and rebounding ability for a frontcourt that's in desperate need of both aspects in the short term.
Bamba might not be the stable, consistent rotational player that Filipowski has shown to be all throughout last season. However, he did showcase in preseason that he has the chance to be a quality rebounder when given the opportunity.
Bamba played in an average of around 12 minutes a night during each of the Jazz's four preseason games, where he was near the top of the entire roster for rebounds per game (6.8). He also ended up chipping in for 5.8 points per game on an impressive 71.4% from the field.
And for a game in which Utah's big man rotation will be limited to just Jaxson Hayes and Kyle Filipowski, there's a real argument that Bamba shouldn't continue to be a DNP-CD like he was against the Grizzlies last game.
The Jazz made an emphasis earlier this offseason to go out and sign Bamba to the main roster for the premise of adding more depth to their center position.
And on Friday night, there's a perfect opening for Utah to throw Bamba into the rotation––even if only for about 10 minutes––and see just how he helps their frontcourt become a bit more well-rounded than it was in their first game of the season.
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