What Jazz coach Will Hardy said about the team getting fined by the NBA for sitting its stars

On Thursday, the NBA announced just 30 minutes before the Utah Jazz’s home game against the Portland Trail Blazers that it was fining the Jazz $500,000 for “conduct detrimental to the league.”

The statement specifically noted games against the Orlando Magic and the Miami Heat in which Utah sat Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. in the fourth quarters. The Jazz lost to Orlando, but beat Miami.

The NBA implemented the Player Participation Policy at the start of the 2023-24 season. The policy lays out rules for teams regarding participation of the league’s star players, which is defined as any player named to an All-NBA team or named an NBA All-Star in any of the previous three seasons.

Markkanen and Jackson are the only players on the Jazz for whom that definition applies to.

One rule in the policy states, “Teams must refrain from any long-term shutdown (or near shutdown) whereby a star player ceases participating in games or begins to play a materially reduced role in circumstances affecting the integrity of the game.”

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The Jazz won’t have to worry about Jackson’s minutes moving forward this season, as the team announced Thursday that he will likely be out for the remainder of the season due to a knee surgery to remove a benign tumor.

Utah coach Will Hardy said he sat Markkanen against the Magic and Heat because Markkanen was on a minutes restriction, and Hardy said he’d continue to do so if instructed by the medical team.

“So if our medical team puts a minutes restriction on Lauri, I’ll try to keep Lauri healthy,” Hardy said.

The Jazz were again without any of their star players in Thursday’s 135-119 loss to the Trail Blazers, as Keyonte George also continued to sit out due to an ankle sprain he sustained against the Magic.

Portland was without All-Star Deni Avdija.

The Jazz played tight and went into halftime with a 63-61 lead but fell apart in the third quarter as it’s done numerous times this year.

The Trail Blazers outscored Utah 40-23 in the third.

“The game got away from us in the third quarter, mostly because of fouling,” Hardy said. “They shot 16 free throws in the quarter. When that happens, it’s also hard to get into a rhythm offensively because you’re playing against a set defense for most of the time.”

Utah did see some life in the fourth, especially from Svi Mykhailiuk. The veteran was out of the rotation for three straight games but came into Thursday’s contest and scored 14 points in just 17 minutes.

He shot 4 of 5 from behind the 3-point line and the Jazz opened the quarter outscoring Portland 22-10.

“Svi’s been the ultimate pro his entire time with us,” Hardy said. “There are times that he’s in the rotation, there’s times he’s been a starter, there’s times he’s been out of the rotation and he always handles himself with a ton of class.”

Despite the Jazz clawing back from a 15-point deficit, Portland ran away with it.

Brice Sensabaugh led the Jazz with 28 points, while Kyle Filipowski, Isaiah Collier and Ace Bailey all added 15 points.

Utah’s new two-way player, Blake Hinson, also saw his first minutes in Thursday’s loss and scored 11 points on 4 of 7 shooting in his debut.