Jazz Suffer Another Injury to Star, Tanking Continues

The Utah Jazz just can’t seem to get away from the injury bug. After making some big moves at the trade deadline, the Jazz have been cursed by multiple injuries to new acquisitions and their already rostered players. 

Right now, the Jazz have ruled Walker Kessler, Jaren Jackson Jr., Jusuf Nurkic, and Vince Williams Jr. out for the season. On top of that their young star point guard Keyonte George is dealing with an ankle injury and now their best player, Lauri Markkanen, is dealing with an ankle/hip injury. 

The Salt Lake Tribune reported, “Utah Jazz star Lauri Markkanen could miss some time after suffering an injury in practice on Wednesday. Markkanen will be evaluated for a right ankle and right hip injury, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. The 7-footer will get an MRI to determine the severity of the injury. The source is being granted anonymity because they had not been cleared to speak publicly on the matter.”

What’s interesting about Markkanen’s injury, and the Jazz’s other injury issues, is that the NBA doesn’t seem to be buying them. The Jazz have already been hit with a big fine for blatantly tanking, and now they’ve had players like Nurkic missing the rest of the season with things like nose surgery. 

To show just how distrusting the NBA is of the Jazz, they are sending independent doctors to Utah to do their own assessment of Lauri’s injuries. If those doctors find that the Jazz are exaggerating another one of their players' injuries in an effort to tank harder, there could be some punishment in the Jazz’s future.