Jusuf Nurkic News: Plays well in loss

Nurkic produced 12 points (5-5 FG, 1-1 3Pt, 1-3 FT), eight rebounds, seven assists and one steal in 25 minutes of Wednesday's 140-127 preseason loss to Houston.

The Jazz were missing several players, including Walker Kessler (shoulder), Kyle Filipowski (back) and Lauri Markkanen (wrist), all of whom are day-to-day. Nurkic looked sharp Wednesday, and that likely has something to do with the fact that he's coming off a EuroBasket stint. When the Jazz are at full strength, Nurkic projects to be Kessler's primary backup.