Lauri Markkanen sits out with an injury as the Jazz lose to the Kings

Three thoughts on the Utah Jazz’s 113-96 loss to the Sacramento Kings from Salt Lake Tribune Jazz beat writer Andy Larsen.

1. Well, now Lauri Markkanen is out

The hits keep coming for Jazz.

Just one day after Taylor Hendricks suffered a season-ending leg injury, Lauri Markkanen limped in the second quarter thanks to back spasms. The latter is certainly less severe – Markkanen actually played for a few minutes after suffering the initial tweak. But the injury throws another blow to the Jazz, who probably didn’t have much depth to begin with.

Usually, back spasms are not an injury to be too concerned about. HashtagBasketball.com has been tracking injury absences in the NBA since 2010, and found 55 instances where a player was out with back spasms, with an average absence of five days. (Minimum 1, maximum 26). If we want to pay particular attention, the lower back spasms that the Jazz diagnosed Markkanen with have been seen 25 times in that period, with an average absence of seven days.

Officially, Jazz head coach Will Hardy noted that back problems are usually day-to-day and that they would see how Markkanen was at game time Thursday.

But with the Jazz in the tank and a winnable home game against the San Antonio Spurs coming up, it might be smart to have Markkanen sit out that game while he’s more available against better opposition on the road trip. Heck, you don’t even have to be very conspiratorial – it’s simply better for Markkanen to be as careful as possible with back spasms, which can be a weird and lingering injury. Missing games now is fine. Are you missing games in a potential world where the Jazz are competitive in the playoffs? Less so.

Without Markkanen, the Jazz started Kyle Filipowski in the second half. Again, John Collins was the more obvious option, but it’s clear at this point that Hardy prefers Collins off the bench, meaning he doesn’t play alongside Walker Kessler. If Markkanen is out for future games, I hope they continue to play Filipowski with the starters – even if that means an incredibly young starting lineup.

2. Changes in the starting line-up

Cody Williams replaced Taylor Hendricks in the starting lineup. As I wrote about yesterday, it makes some sense as the closest like-for-like replacement: Williams is one of the only wings on the team, has the length to defend a lot of different types of players, and won’t use a many possessions in the attack.

But that wasn’t the only change to the starting line-up: Jordan Clarkson replaced Collin Sexton. It was more of a surprise, but here’s what Hardy had to say about the change:

“Yeah, we’re trying to make those two groups work a little bit better, and we can do that without affecting the minutes too much, affecting the opportunities too much. You know, I believe in Collin. Collin knows this hasn’t something to do with his game. It’s about what makes the two groups work best. I think the first group showed some decent cohesion offensively. I think I have some work to do to help Collin with the other group if that’s something we continue to do,” Hardy said.

“But nothing with our team right now is set in stone. I had a conversation with Collin before the game that I wanted to try something different to see if we could find a little bit of a rhythm offensively. And Collin is great. He understands that he wants the team to do well. He’s always done everything I’ve asked from a role standpoint, and so it’s my responsibility if he wants to accept those things to keep trying. to think about him and put him in a position to be successful.”

I kind of get what Hardy is going for here: the second unit had been a tire fire in the past, so putting your second best player in those lineups should have helped them. Sexton had a rough night though: 0-7 from the field, -11, three turnovers, just 18 minutes on the floor. He had left the locker room when the media arrived, so we didn’t ask him about the change.

However, because he is your second best player – and maybe first best with Markkanen out – he probably also deserves a bit of respect in this situation. For many NBA players, that means starting. It might be worthwhile to find the way to best support him, and it’s good that Hardy also nodded in that direction.

3. Keyonte George, who is nicer to himself

An update on a Triple Team point from two games ago:

Keyonte George has been really, really bad in the first four games of the season. He’s shooting 26% from the field, which is honestly kind of hard to do. The bright side of this 3-13 FG performance tonight was twofold: First, 10 of those shots were threes, which makes lower percentages from the field more palatable. Second, he picked up 11 assists, giving him a double-double.

He has been extremely hard on himself because he wants success as much as anyone else. In general, I like that kind of approach, because far worse is the Talen Horton-Tucker approach – unwavering belief that what you’re doing is right despite all evidence to the contrary. But the truth is, the low body language and pressuring George has done in the first week of the season has also been detrimental.

So Hardy asked him: How would you treat a teammate going through a crisis? Why don’t you treat yourself the same way?

George said the question reframed how he thought about his own game — that he realized he needs to be more supportive of his own self-talk. I think it showed in his interview with the media today, which was a nice mix of being critical and forward-thinking, was a step in the right direction.

To be sure, George needs to play better. Much better. But there is an exaggerated spotlight on him because it is still so early in the season when there are so many narratives. A week-long slump in mid-February just gets fewer eyes, and exists in the context of the second leg. It’s worth waiting a bit to see if there’s more to come from George this year.

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