Lauri Markkanen Reveals Jazz's Biggest Goal Post-All-Star Break

The Utah Jazz are returning from their All-Star hiatus on Friday to finish off the remainder of their 2024-25 campaign,

And while their spot in the standings isn't looking too strong, that doesn't mean this last stretch of the season is without value. With 28 games left on the horizon for this young Jazz squad, the group still has a lot to play for in the coming weeks, even if it may not result in a playoff appearance later this year.

During Friday's shootaround ahead of their battle vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder, Markkanen echoed the importance of the games that lie ahead on the schedule.

"Keep building those good habits," Markkanen said. "We're trying to get as many wins as we can... Just creating that chemistry, and building that foundation. We have a lot of young guys. Keep buying into the culture, hard work, and trying to get better. I think there's nothing like game reps, so every single one of these games is important for everybody. You can't recreate that in practice."

Keep building good habits and getting the most out of every game 📈

We're back from break and Lauri gets into what a successful end of season looks like, his thoughts on a 4 Nations style NBA tournament and how he spent his break.#ShootaroundInterviews presented by @ZionsBank
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) February 21, 2025

While practice and out-of-game reps play a major factor in the Jazz's development and the progression of their young core, nothing can replace the importance of playing in-game in real competition against the best talents in the world.

Markkanen recognizes that, and wants to ensure his surrounding cast values these coming games with that aspired importance.

Utah will have some considerable challenges ahead. They have among the top-ten toughest remaining schedules in the NBA, according to strength of schedule, making for some grueling reps ahead of them.

Among those games lies two meetings with the Thunder, one with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and two matchups vs. the reigning champion Boston Celtics.

It won't be an easy final stretch of the season, but one where the Jazz can take the ups and downs in stride.

For such a young roster and rotation, getting continuous in-game reps to build that experience and chemistry will be extremely important. Finding consistent success in wins and losses might be hard to parlay with, but for a long-term process like the Jazz are building, these final sub-30 games will still play a considerable factor in what's to come.

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