Wednesday, the NBA fined the Utah Jazz $100,000. The penalty was for a violation of the player participation policy, with the Jazz holding out former All-Star Lauri Markkanen in a game against the Washington Wizards earlier in the month. The Jazz could have been dinged for doing the same thing several other times this season.
Advertisement Friday, the Jazz (15-53) responded by doing something that was, at once, shameful, audacious and laudable. In their second game since the penalty was announced, the Jazz played Markkanen for 18 minutes and 37 seconds. The Jazz outscored the Toronto Raptors by 10 points when Markkanen was on the floor.
All of that time came in the first half. Markkanen sat for the entire second half, which the Raptors won by 10 points, resulting in a 126-118 Toronto win. The Jazz also sat third-year starting centre Walker Kessler for the night, despite not listing him on the injury report.
It was all part of their attempt to maximize their NBA Draft odds while, preferably, not incurring more fines. Also of note from the game: Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley played nine minutes in the second half. The Raptors won that stretch by 15 points.
This is getting gross, as it often does in the NBA at this time of the year. However, from the Raptors’ perspective, the situation has been clear for months, arguably since the season’s first week, when Barnes and Quickley suffered injuries that cost them time. From a pure wins-and-losses viewpoint, this season was.
