Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen will miss Wednesday’s game against MVP favorite Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets due to personal reasons. It’s one of a litany of absences for the cellar-dwelling Jazz, who are without four players who figured to be part of their regular rotation. Forward John Collins is questionable with a left knee contusion.
With so many Utah players sidelined, guard Collin Sexton will command a larger share of the Jazz offense, making him worthy of consideration in DFS lineups.
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PG/SG Collin Sexton, Utah Jazz vs. Denver Nuggets, $6,300
After joining Utah in the summer 2022 blockbuster trade that sent shooting guard Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland, Sexton has been quietly solid. He averaged nearly 19 points per game in the 2023-24 season and and is producing similar output on slightly better efficiency this year. In particular, his 45.7 percent shooting from distance is by far the best mark of his career.
The absences of Markkanen and shooting guard Jordan Clarkson will leave the Jazz offense with a lot of possessions unaccounted for. 22.1% of Utah’s plays when the Finnish star is on the court end in Markkanen shooting, getting fouled, or turning the ball over, and Clarkson has posted a 27.2% usage rate in his 26 minutes per game.
Sexton has generally stepped up when entrusted with a bigger offensive role. In a three-game stretch that Markkanen missed at the start of November, he posted one of his finest games of the season, a 24-point, five-assist effort in a win over the Bulls on November 4. Similarly, he dropped 20 with Clarkson sidelined yesterday against the Spurs.
His salary of $6,300 isn’t a complete bargain, but the Nuggets have struggled to defend opposing guards this season after letting starting shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope walk in the offseason. Sexton’s fantasy ceiling should be high.
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All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
