The Utah Jazz's 2026-27 season opener against the Memphis Grizzlies is right around the corner.
And in the leadup to the Jazz's first game of a long 82-game campaign, we now have a clear picture of what both the injury reports are looking like for both Utah and Memphis.
For the Jazz, they'll be without a few notable pieces in their lineup for one reason or another–– especially as it relates to their frontcourt, where Utah will be down a couple of their usual big men.
Let's take a look at both the Jazz and the Grizzlies' injury report fro Wednesday night, and get an idea of which guys will be in, and who will have to wait a little longer to make their season debut.
Utah Jazz Injury Report (as of 10/21)
OUT - Trey Alexander (left knee; contusion)
OUT - Tony Bradley (left quadriceps; strain)
OUT - Jusuf Nurkic (right foot; 2nd plantar plate tear)
Overall, the Jazz will be without three players for their opening night roster. One of those will be their two-way guard, Trey Alexander, as he deals with a minor knee injury.
But the more important absences revolve around the two big men below him: that being starting center Jusuf Nurkic, who has been out since the Jazz's second preseason game due to a foot injury, as well as newly-signed big man Tony Bradley, who appears to be dealing with a quad injury.
Nurkic is an absence that the Jazz are going to be forced to deal with for an extended amount of time, as the veteran big man's initial projected timeline to return of four weeks puts him at a target date to come back in the middle of November.
But without Bradley as well, it means that the Jazz's big man rotation is going to be pretty shallow in a game against a Memphis team with a good amount of size between the likes of Cameron Boozer and Zach Edey.
That means Utah will be due to start Jaxson Hayes in place of Nurkic at center as expected, while Kyle Filipowski feels like the most ideal candidate to run as their backup five, paired with a few minutes of Jaren Jackson Jr. shifting down to the center spot as well.
Will that be enough to overcome Memphis and their size advantage? Time will tell, but it certainly adds another interesting hurdle for Utah to overcome in what should be an exciting opener.
Memphis Grizzlies Injury Report (as of 10/21)
DOUBTFUL - Isaiah Stewart (left ankle; sprain)
On the Grizzlies' side, it appears they'll be a bit healthier than the Jazz. The only name listed on their injury report heading into the night is their veteran big man, Isaiah Stewart.
That does tend to take some big man depth away from the Grizzlies side, if Stewart ends up missing. However, they'll also have some intriguing names down the depth chart to bank on to take ahold of Stewart's minutes in the frontcourt, whether that be Quinten Post, Jerami Grant, or even former Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks.
Tip-off between the Jazz and Grizzlies lands at 6 p.m. MT in FedEx Forum, as Utah will be hungry to start their brand-new season off on a strong note at 1-0.
Add us as a preferred source on Google