Utah Jazz Starter in Danger of Missing Action vs Philadelphia 76ers

The Utah Jazz have a starter on the injury report for the matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Jan 6, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Utah Jazz forward John Collins (20) scores against the Philadelphia 76ers during the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Jan 6, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Utah Jazz forward John Collins (20) scores against the Philadelphia 76ers during the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Going into a Saturday night matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Utah Jazz could potentially miss a key starter once again.

According to the official NBA injury report, the Jazz have listed John Collins as questionable to play. Lately, Collins has been dealing with a left hip contusion.

When the Jazz faced the Cleveland Cavaliers two days before Christmas, Collins missed his first set of action this month. The Jazz came up short with a double-digit loss against the Cavs. When Utah returned to the floor to take on the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday, Collins remained out of the lineup. Without him, the Jazz struggled to overcome the Blazers, taking on a two-point loss.

Although Collins has missed just three games for the Jazz this year, they have yet to win a game in his absence. Outside of the recent two-game absence, Collins missed action against the Denver Nuggets at the end of November. The Jazz dropped the game with a 19-point loss at home.

The Sixers didn’t have the hottest start to the 2024-2025 NBA season, but they’ve been turning a corner. Philadelphia has won seven of its last ten games and picked up a statement victory on the road against the Boston Celtics on Christmas Day.

Meanwhile, the Jazz are on a two-game losing streak, with just seven victories on their record this year. Surprisingly, they’ve found more success away from home this year, as they have just two wins in Utah since the season started.

While Collins would be a useful upgrade for the Jazz against the Sixers on Saturday, his status is unknown so far. The veteran forward could end up being a game-time decision.

The Sixers and the Jazz are set to tip at 9:30 PM ET.


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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA