Lauri Markkanen was cleared off the injury report Monday night, lifting the day-to-day tag he had carried since last week. He is available for Utah's game against the Spurs that same night.
What happened
The Jazz listed Lauri Markkanen as cleared on the injury report Monday at 7:55 p.m. ET, removing the day-to-day tag attached to his name. No detail or comment accompanies the clearance. The prior entry in his timeline came Tuesday, Oct. 6, when he was day-to-day with a neck and head issue, with no further description given at that time. Nothing beyond those two entries is on the record. He is available for Utah's game against the Spurs at 9 p.m. ET Monday.
What it means for the Jazz
Markkanen is set to play against San Antonio at 9 p.m. ET Monday. Last season he averaged 26.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 34.3 minutes across 42 games, the kind of scoring load Utah is built around. Without him on the floor, Keyonte George (33.1 minutes, 23.6 points), Kennedy Chandler (32.3 minutes, 15.0 points) and Walker Kessler (30.8 minutes, 14.4 points) have logged the heaviest minutes, with Ace Bailey, Jusuf Nurkic, Bez Mbeng, Andersson Garcia and John Konchar also in the rotation. There is no record with or without him yet; the Jazz open the season 0-0.
What to watch
No expected return timeline applies since Markkanen is now cleared rather than out. The Jazz will issue their next injury report ahead of their following game. Teammate Kyle Filipowski remains day-to-day with a back and torso issue, a situation worth tracking as Utah's frontcourt rotation takes shape to open the season.
Is Lauri Markkanen playing vs the Spurs?
Yes. He was cleared off the injury report Monday, Oct. 12 at 7:55 p.m. ET and is available for Utah's game against San Antonio at 9 p.m. ET that night.
When will Lauri Markkanen be back?
He is already back. Markkanen was cleared from his day-to-day listing Monday, and no further absence has been announced.