Lauri Markkanen Exits Early With Wrist Injury, Leaving Jazz Frontcourt in Shambles
Underdog NBA reported: 'Status alert: Lauri Markkanen (wrist) won't return Monday.'
The Utah Jazz just watched their $46 million centerpiece head to the locker room before most fans even found their seats. has officially been ruled out for the rest of Monday's game against the Memphis Grizzlies with a right wrist injury.
The seven-foot Finn got tangled up with Grizzlies rookie Cameron Boozer with just under six minutes left in the first quarter. Getting injured by a teenager who was probably doing algebra homework three years ago is a tough break, but the immediate reality for Utah is much worse.
Markkanen was off to a solid start this season, posting 19.0 points and 7.1 boards a night while shooting 37 percent from deep. Taking that kind of production out of the lineup turns a competitive NBA offense into a glorified G League scrimmage.
The timing is objectively hilarious if you happen to hate the Jazz. Utah was already playing without Jusuf Nurkic, who has a foot issue, and Jaxson Hayes, who is nursing a bad shoulder.
With Markkanen out, rookie Kyle Filipowski was immediately thrown into the fire. If you were holding a ticket on any Markkanen over props tonight, you are officially drawing dead, and the live betting lines for Memphis just got a whole lot more expensive.
Now we wait for the inevitable medical update. If this wrist issue lingers, Utah's frontcourt rotation is going to look like an open casting call, and opposing bigs are going to feast on the glass for the foreseeable future.