The Utah Jazz nearly pulled off their 30th win of the season against the San Antonio Spurs, in a game where Lauri Markkanen had 25 points, six rebounds, and a clutch three near the end that brought the game far closer than either team was hoping for. See, the Spurs and Jazz are both tanking, though only the Spurs really should be. The Jazz were actually a good team until the squad's front office decided to muck everything up.
Due to that mucking, the Jazz are bottoming out into one of their worst seasons ever. The club is a wreck, and the players are annoyed. Markkanen himself has voiced his displeasure about the abrupt decision to tank, something he isn't in favor of. He wants to play in the playoffs, and that's something that Danny Ainge has kept him from doing in back-to-back seasons.
Markkanen is not the type to just phone it in, and clearly, that was the case, as he nearly led the Jazz to a comeback win against the Spurs. After the game, it was announced that Markkanen had sustained a right shoulder injury and would be reevaluated in two weeks. For those keeping score, that's right about the time the Jazz's season will end. The Jazz will call it a season on Sunday, April 14th against the Golden State Warriors.
The last game of the season and the day Markkanen is set to be reevaluated. The injury doesn't seem dire, as it was referred to as a "shoulder impingement" via Sports Illustrated. It's very likely that the injury is being blown out of proportion a tad just to justify Markkanen not playing, and the Jazz keeping their losing streak intact.
The goal is to lose and Markkanen isn't helping that goal, so if you're on Team Tank, this is a good thing. Personally, not a fan of tanking, but if you're going to do it, make sure it amounts to something worthwhile.