Is Lauri Markkanen Playing Tonight? (Injury Update, Betting Impact for Kings vs. Jazz)

Utah Jazz star Lauri Markkanen missed the team's game on Monday against the Portland Trail Blazers, and he's been ruled out again on Wednesday's night against the Sacramento Kings.

The Jazz have listed Markkanen's injury as "lower back injury management."

Essentially, Utah is feeding into its tank for the rest of the 2024-25 season. The Jazz are in play for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, and playing veterans like John Collins (also out tonight), Jordan Clarkson, Collin Sexton (also out tonight) and Markkanen could lead to a few extra wins that the team doesn't want.

This season, Utah is just 5-9 in the 14 games that Markkanen has missed. On Wednesday night, oddsmakers at DraftKings Sportsbook have set Utah as a 9.5-point underdog againt the Kings, who are coming off a blowout win over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday.

With Markkanen, Sexton and Collins out, the Jazz are much harder to trust offensively since they'll be relying on a lot of young players against a potentially play-in tournament bound Kings squad.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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