diff --git a/pkg/epp/scheduling/framework/plugins/multi/prefix/plugin.go b/pkg/epp/scheduling/framework/plugins/multi/prefix/plugin.go
index 4e0416720..7c6993ddb 100644
--- a/pkg/epp/scheduling/framework/plugins/multi/prefix/plugin.go
+++ b/pkg/epp/scheduling/framework/plugins/multi/prefix/plugin.go
@@ -216,7 +216,12 @@ func (p *Plugin) PreRequest(ctx context.Context, request *types.LLMRequest, sche
 		return
 	}
 
-	p.indexer.Add(state.PrefixHashes, ServerID(targetPod.NamespacedName))
+	// This function is just adding data, it does not need to block other operations.
+	// TODO: look into making this entire function async, none of this needs to be done in-band
+	// The PR that introduces this change is meant as a cherrypick, so it was minimally invasive.
+	go func() {
+		p.indexer.Add(state.PrefixHashes, ServerID(targetPod.NamespacedName))
+	}()
 
 	total := len(state.PrefixHashes)
 	matchLen := state.PrefixCacheServers[ServerID(targetPod.NamespacedName)]
diff --git a/pkg/epp/scheduling/framework/plugins/picker/max_score_picker.go b/pkg/epp/scheduling/framework/plugins/picker/max_score_picker.go
index a0e973fe6..90100d7e6 100644
--- a/pkg/epp/scheduling/framework/plugins/picker/max_score_picker.go
+++ b/pkg/epp/scheduling/framework/plugins/picker/max_score_picker.go
@@ -82,8 +82,8 @@ func (p *MaxScorePicker) TypedName() plugins.TypedName {
 
 // Pick selects the pod with the maximum score from the list of candidates.
 func (p *MaxScorePicker) Pick(ctx context.Context, cycleState *types.CycleState, scoredPods []*types.ScoredPod) *types.ProfileRunResult {
-	log.FromContext(ctx).V(logutil.DEBUG).Info(fmt.Sprintf("Selecting maximum '%d' pods from %d candidates sorted by max score: %+v", p.maxNumOfEndpoints,
-		len(scoredPods), scoredPods))
+	log.FromContext(ctx).V(logutil.DEBUG).Info("Selecting pods from candidates sorted by max score: ", "NumberOfPods", p.maxNumOfEndpoints,
+		"scoredPodsLength", len(scoredPods), "scoredPods", scoredPods)
 
 	// TODO: merge this with the logic in RandomPicker
 	// Rand package is not safe for concurrent use, so we create a new instance.
diff --git a/pkg/epp/scheduling/framework/scheduler_profile.go b/pkg/epp/scheduling/framework/scheduler_profile.go
index 9790b9843..9c0ae0abc 100644
--- a/pkg/epp/scheduling/framework/scheduler_profile.go
+++ b/pkg/epp/scheduling/framework/scheduler_profile.go
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ func (p *SchedulerProfile) runPickerPlugin(ctx context.Context, cycleState *type
 		i++
 	}
 
-	loggerDebug.Info("Running picker plugin", "plugin", p.picker.TypedName(), "pods-weighted-score", fmt.Sprint(weightedScorePerPod))
+	loggerDebug.Info("Running picker plugin", "plugin", p.picker.TypedName(), "pods-weighted-score", weightedScorePerPod)
 	before := time.Now()
 	result := p.picker.Pick(ctx, cycleState, scoredPods)
 	metrics.RecordPluginProcessingLatency(PickerExtensionPoint, p.picker.TypedName().Type, p.picker.TypedName().Name, time.Since(before))