Luka

Samanic

Utah ended its 13-game losing streak on Thursday, with a balanced offensive effort doing the trick. Samanic led seven double-digit scorers with 22 points and was also one of two Jazz players to surpass 30 minutes (Keyonte George). Interestingly, he logged more minutes than Utah’s frontcourt rookies, with Taylor Hendricks (5/4/4/3/1 with one 3-pointer) playing 19 minutes and Brice Sensabaugh (17/6/3 with four 3-pointers) 24. That’s something for managers in active leagues to be mindful of for Utah’s final two games. Samanic has been a relatively safe play since moving into the starting lineup.

Samanic went scoreless in the first half of Tuesday’s game after moving into the starting unit in place of Brice Sensabaugh. However, he was able to make a big impact in the second half by scoring all of his points after the break. This was his highest-scoring performance of the season and the first double-double of his career. Samanic has not been a relevant player in fantasy basketball this season, but if he starts again on Thursday, he may hold some value with only five games being played. However, if Sensabaugh moves back into the starting unit, Samanic won’t see enough of an opportunity to be worth streaming.

With Collin Sexton out, Juzang will slide into the starting unit for the second time in his career after having 27 points and seven triples in their last game. Samanic will also move into the starting lineup, which pushes Brice Sensabaugh to the bench.

Samanic has been irrelevant in fantasy basketball this season, even when he has gotten the opportunity to start. This was one of his best performances of the season, which came after Walker Kessler’s early exit. Samanic was able to log the backup center minutes behind Omer Yurtseven with Kessler out, and if he remains out on Friday, Samanic should be a large part of their rotation off the bench. The minutes may be there, but he isn’t a player to target in standard leagues at this point.

Walker Kessler started in their last game after missing their previous four due to injury, but now Samanic will replace him in the starting unit. This may be a matchup-based decision, as Boston is without both Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford. Kessler should still supply blocks off the bench, but a lack of minutes may limit his fantasy impact.

After missing their last four games, Kessler will play on Saturday. He had been coming off the bench, but with the amount of injuries that they are currently dealing with, he should return to the starting lineup. Luka Samanic and Omer Yurtseven will lose out on minutes with Kessler healthy.

Markkanen will miss a third straight game with the quad injury, and his absence will keep Luka Samanic in the starting lineup. While he did account for one steal and two blocks in Utah’s win over Washington on Monday, Samanic doesn’t offer enough to merit being streamed in most leagues.

Kessler will miss a fourth straight game, while Markkanen will be out for a second consecutive one. Taylor Hendricks has already been ruled out for at least a week, so Luka Samanic, Brice Sensabaugh and Johnny Juzang will all have to play larger roles in the frontcourt on Wednesday.

Samanic was Will Hardy’s choice to fill the void left by Lauri Markkanen, who sat out Monday’s game with a quad contusion. While he did record a full stat line, Samanic’s contributions were minimal, and he wasn’t on the floor in crunch time. That honor went to Johnny Juzang, who played 20 minutes off the bench and finished with 10 points, four rebounds, one assist, and two 3-pointers. Neither player needs to be streamed if Markkanen remains sidelined, even with Taylor Hendricks (toe) having to exit Monday’s game at halftime.

Samanic is the lone change to the starting lineup, as he fills the void left by Lauri Markkanen. He hasn’t done enough to merit being streamed in this spot, but fantasy managers should watch Samanic in case Lauri misses time beyond Monday.