Lauri Markkanen was ruled out for Wednesday's game against the Spurs with a right wrist injury after being listed as day-to-day. The 1-3 Jazz, who have lost two straight, are also without Jaren Jackson Jr., Jusuf Nurkic and Trey Alexander.
What happened
Markkanen went from day-to-day to out on the injury report at 8:39 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 28, shortly before the 9:00 p.m. ET tip against the Spurs. The injury is to his right wrist. He was first listed as day-to-day with the wrist on Tuesday, Oct. 27. The report's comment was short: Markkanen (wrist) is out for Wednesday's tilt against the Spurs. No further detail on the injury has been announced. This is not his first listing. He was day-to-day with a neck issue on Oct. 6 and was cleared on Oct. 12.
What it means for the Jazz
Utah faced the Spurs at 9:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday at 1-3. The Jazz are the 13th seed and have lost two straight. Markkanen has played all four games, averaging 16.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 28.6 minutes. Utah has not played a game without him yet, so there is no record to compare. The frontcourt is thin. Jaren Jackson Jr. (right knee) and Jusuf Nurkic (right foot) are also out, and so is Trey Alexander (left knee). That leaves Mo Bamba (28.6 minutes, 14.0 points) and Jaxson Hayes (23.7 minutes, 10.3 points) as the bigs. Ace Bailey (27.3 minutes, 13.0 points) and Svi Mykhailiuk (17.0 minutes) can take forward minutes. Keyonte George has carried the scoring at 22.8 points in 31.8 minutes.
What to watch
The injury report lists an expected return of Oct. 31. The next report will show whether he moves off out by then. Beyond that date, no timeline has been announced, and no diagnosis has been disclosed. Also watch the statuses of Jackson, Nurkic and Alexander, who are all out. Until Markkanen is back, the story is how Utah splits the frontcourt minutes between Bamba, Hayes and Bailey.
Is Lauri Markkanen playing vs the Spurs on Wednesday?
No. He was ruled out with a right wrist injury on the injury report at 8:39 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 28. He had been day-to-day.
When will Lauri Markkanen be back?
The injury report lists an expected return of Oct. 31. No timeline beyond that has been announced.