Lauri Markkanen has been itching to get back on the court for the Utah Jazz . When the Jazz win, he wants to be out there, celebrating with his teammates, and when they're struggling he wants to help or at least be in the trenches with them.
Well, he's close to returning.
Although Markkanen is listed as 'out' on the Jazz injury report for Friday's home game against the Los Angeles Clippers , he was a full participant at practice on Thursday which signals that a return is imminent after having already missed six games because of a hamstring strain.
"This is the first time I've an (injured) hamstring," Markkanen said after practice. "If it's a rolled ankle then I kind of know what I can play with and what pain you can tolerate and you expect it to hurt. But hamstrings apparently are a little different and easier to (re-aggravate). So we've got to make sure that all the strength levels are there."
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Markkanen said that there are a couple more boxes that he needs to tick when it comes to his return-to-play plan that the Jazz medical staff has made for him, but that things have gone well over the last couple weeks.
He went through his normal pregame workout in Dallas before the team played without him and were rocked with a 50-point loss to the Mavericks. Then, on Thursday he not only fully participated in practice, but put in some extra work and conditioning at the end of the session.
"I've been able to add stuff in every day without any setbacks, so we're on a good track," he said.
While the Jazz are going to be very happy to welcome back their top scorer, there was more good news on Thursday. Jordan Clarkson (right thigh contusion), who has missed the last three games, and Kelly Olynyk (right shoulder strain), who has missed two straight games, are also nearing a return.
Both Olynyk and Clarkson were full participants at practice on Thursday and have been upgraded from 'out' to 'questionable' for Friday's contest.
