Harkless is playing 12 more minutes a night for Utah
With a teammate out, the Jazz are leaning harder on Elijah Harkless, and the workload shows it.
Elijah Harkless is averaging 12 more minutes a night over his last three games than he does on the season. That is not a small bump. It is the kind of jump that happens when a team loses a rotation piece and has to hand real minutes to someone who was not getting them before.
The extra time has come with more production. Harkless is scoring 8.3 points a game over that three-game stretch, up from 6.8 for the season. His minutes have gone from 21 a night across 26 games this season to 32.5 over the last three. That is a role change, not a hot streak in garbage time.
Whether it holds depends on one thing: whether the teammate he is covering for stays out. If that player returns to the lineup, Harkless's minutes likely shrink back toward his season number, and so does his scoring. If the absence continues, Utah has a reason to keep feeding him this workload and see whether the last three games are the new normal or just a short stretch.
As of March 28, 2026, this is where things stand for the Jazz. The next few games, and the health of the teammate he replaced, will say whether Harkless has won a bigger role or just filled one temporarily.