Lauri Markkanen Injury Status For Celtics vs Jazz

Will the Celtics have to face the Jazz with their best player on the court?

Jan 5, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) defends against Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) in the first quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images

The Boston Celtics are trying to round into shape so they are playing their best basketball before the playoffs start. They are the defending champs, so they keep getting everyone's best shot.

Boston is pretty much locked into the second seed in the Eastern Conference. They are six games back of the Cavs and seven games ahead of the Knicks for that spot.

That means that the Celtics can focus on getting healthy and playing their best basketball of the year. That will be their top priority as the season winds down and April approaches.

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On Friday night, the Celtics are taking on the Utah Jazz. The Jazz are a team that is tanking so they can have the best possible odds of winning the draft lottery.

The ultimate prize is Cooper Flagg, so the Jazz have been strategic as far as when they play their best players. In fact, they got fined $100,000 for resting too many players in a single game.

Lauri Markkanen is their best player. He has found himself on the injury report prior to this matchup against the Celtics.

Markkanen is not actually hurt. He has been ruled out of this game due to personal reasons. The Jazz have a lot of players who are listed out for this game.

It's unclear what the reasons are that Markkanen is out for. With him being ruled out of this game, he will now miss six of the last ten games that Utah has played.

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Boston certainly has a better chance to win this game now that Markkanen is out. His size and skill would give the Celtics problems.

Boston is trying to just get themselves ready for a playoff push. It wouldn't be surprising to see them start to sit some of their own guys so they can get some rest before that starts.

The exception is Kristaps Porzingis because he has hardly played this year. He needs as many reps with the rest of the starting lineup as he can get.

So far this season, Markkanen is averaging 19 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game.

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