Jazz Update Lauri Markkanen's Status for Celtics Matchup

The Utah Jazz rematch the Boston Celtics on Friday night.

It appears losing is the new winning as the Utah Jazz face the Boston Celtics in the second game of their current three-game road trip.

All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen was ruled out a day prior to the game as Utah’s leading scorer deals with a wrist injury. Utah’s starting backcourt Jordan Clarkson (hand) and Collin Sexton (hamstring) will miss their 11th and 16th consecutive game, respectively.

Reserve Rudy Gay (back) is also out, and Kelly Olynyk (illness) is available. As for the Celtics, Jayson Tatum (hip), Jalen Brown (back), and Al Horford (maintenance) are questionable.

It appears as we head down the home stretch the Jazz won’t be putting their best foot forward. Despite only being 1.5 games removed from the play-in tournament, Utah will be sitting their best players.

How serious are the injuries? This is something we don’t know, but the writing was on the wall with how head coach Will Hardy juggled the rotation in the victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night. In a must-win game, Walker Kessler logged only 21 minutes, while Ochai Agbaji saw 25 minutes of action. Also, Luka Samanic played 25 minutes in his first game with the Jazz despite being signed only two days prior.

For the Jazz fans that are scoreboard-watching, the game to keep an eye on is the Washington Wizards versus the Orlando Magic. Currently, Utah is two games up on Washington with six games left. 

A Wizard victory is needed if the Jazz have any shot of moving up the ladder to the No. 8 spot in terms of lottery odds. Other games that can affect seeding are the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Indiana Pacers and the Chicago Bulls vs. Charlotte Hornets.

Tip-off is 5:30 pm MDT.

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