Report: Jazz Have 'Shut Down' Jordan Clarkson, Collin Sexton for Season

This is good news for the Team Tank, but is it too little, too late?

The Jazz are settling into the no. 9 slot in terms of lottery odds with not much room for improvement. Utah is two games better than the Washington Wizards while being 2.5 games up on the Indiana Pacers with only seven games left. Even without Clarkson and Sexton, the Jazz are competing and are unlikely to lose all seven of their remaining games.

In fact, the Jazz should be favored on Wednesday night at the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs have lost six of their last seven and have some injury problems that they're dealing with. The status of Spurs' small forwards Keldon Johnson and Jeremy Sochan is up in the air heading into the matchup.

The news of Clarkson and Sexton being "shut down" begs a bigger question: Are the Jazz going to eventually go down the same path with Lauri Markkanen? Utah’s leading scorer suiting up was somewhat of a surprise in Monday's loss to the Phoenix Suns. 

Utah eventually lost the game but was in striking distance, down three points heading into the fourth quarter. If Utah wants to secure the No. 9 slot, it would be in its best interest to prevent the All-Star forward from seeing the court until next year.

Jazz fans will get a better idea of what the front office is thinking on the Markkanen front when the injury report comes out for the Spurs matchup.

Stay tuned.

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