Another day, another addition to the injury report for the Utah Jazz.
Shams Charania reported that Lauri Markkanen “has sustained a non-displaced fracture in his right hand and will be sidelined for at least a month”
You can read more about it here from Tim MacMahon.
According to MacMahon, Markkanen suffered the injury in the loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Initial X-rays didn’t reveal the fracture but additional scans in Utah showed cracks.
It’s a blow to the Jazz’s depth that has obviously derailed their season. Utah was without four starters in their game against the Heat and they’re struggling each game to overcome it.
Utah’s bench hasn’t stepped up as much as they’ve needed in the wake of injuries to Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Jusuf Nurkic, plus not having Keyonte George last night. The play of Svi Mykhailiuk, Isaiah Collier, and Brice Sensabaugh has been nowhere near good enough. It’s hard to criticize the Jazz too much this season. Had they not signed Jaxson Hayes, Josh Okogie, and Josh Green, the team would be embarrassingly bad. Utah’s record is horrendous, but they’ve had two overtime games and multiple single-digit games.
All the Jazz can hope for now is for Keyonte George to come back soon from his ankle sprain and grind out some wins. It’s a long season, and the play-in is still in the picture.
