Jazz's biggest disappointment early in 2024-25 season

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Since the departure of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, things haven’t gone well in Utah. While the elevated play of Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson brought some excitement to the franchise, the Jazz have been absent from the playoffs.

While the Jazz do hold plenty of young pieces, they haven’t landed any serious prospect that turns the tide in their favor. Furthermore, Markkanen and Clarkson have reportedly been involved strongly in trade rumors, as early as last year. But for some reason, the Jazz have yet to pull the trigger in sending out any of their major cornerstones.

The Salt Lake City-based squad wasn’t carrying any lofty expectations coming into the 2024-2025 NBA season. However, any basketball fan will agree that it’s quite surprising that they’ve already thrown in the towel this early. The Jazz are currently posting a 4-14 win-loss card, which is good for the 14th seed in the Western Conference. They also started out the year with a measly 0-6 start before earning their first win against the Chicago Bulls.

With the Jazz piling up losses, fans can’t help but assume that the franchise is probably setting its sights on the 2025 NBA Draft. As we all know, the draft features a potential generational talent in Cooper Flagg. But at the same time, the Jazz have also been ravaged by an injury bug, which has prevented the Jazz from fielding a fully healthy roster on a consistent basis. As a result, the Jazz’s biggest disappointment early in the 2024-2025 NBA season has been the team’s inability to stay healthy.

Lauri Markkanen injures his knee

The most recent blow to the Jazz roster has been Lauri Markkanen. The Jazz superstar collided with the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama in the 13 point loss against the San Antonio Spurs. While Markkanen still finished the game with 14 points and eight rebounds, the Finnish star had to be carried off the court.

Later on, the team announced that their best player sustained a knee contusion. The diagnosis should allow the Jazz to breath a sigh of relief, given that it wasn’t as serious as it looked. However, Markkanen missed the game the next night against the Denver Nuggets as he welcomed a new baby.

Markkanen’s absence will be a huge blow to the Jazz’s campaign. While Utah isn’t really expected to contend this year, especially with the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes coming up, a healthy Markkanen would’ve prolonged a new found momentum that saw them win three games.

Taylor Hendricks’ gruesome broken leg

Another Jazz injury that made headlines early into the season was Taylor Hendricks’ unfortunate broken leg. Coming into his sophomore season, Hendricks was expected to beef up the team’s frontcourt. However, while running back on defense against the Dallas Mavericks, the 6’9 power forward slipped on the court and gruesomely injured his leg, which forced the referees to pause the game.

Hendricks has been one of the young guns in the Jazz rotation, with the ability to stretch the floor. His major injury ultimately puts a dent in the Jazz’s rebuilding plans. Moreover, the sophomore power forward suffered a career-threatening injury that could possibly derail his young basketball career.

But fortunately, Hendricks reportedly underwent successful surgery to address his fractured right fibula and dislocated ankle. The news should be a step in the right direction, as Hendricks tries to mount a comeback from injury.

Other key absences

Speaking of injuries, the rest of the roster hasn’t been fully healthy as well for the Jazz. The Western Conference cellar dwellers had to endure absences to their key personnel. Former NBA Sixth Man of the Year Jordan Clarkson had already missed five games early into the season. Jazz second round pick and highly touted rookie prospect Kyle Filipowski, starting center Walker Kessler, and former NBA champion Patty Mills have missed at least four games.

Among the players playing for the Jazz, only former first round draft pick Colin Sexton has managed to stay healthy by suiting up in all of the team’s 18 games so far. The rest of the roster has missed at least one game for the Jazz.

Injury bugs are never a welcomed sight for any NBA team that wants to stay competitive. Coincidentally, the Jazz are also aiming to have the NBA Draft lottery odds in favor of them. With the NBA Draft lottery odds in mind, the Jazz’s losing season has already sparked tanking speculation. Nonetheless, even if the Jazz finish last this year, there’s still a good chance that they won’t be selecting the first overall pick in the draft headlined by Flagg.

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