The J-Notes
Fansided

Trouble Looms Ahead for the Injury-Riddled Utah Jazz

By Jared Woodcox

facebooktwitterreddit

With a slew of injuries impacting the team, the Utah Jazz face a tough road ahead as they try to maintain their position as the eighth seed in the West.

The Utah Jazz fell on Saturday to the Los Angeles Clippers by a score of 109-104 in a game that once again could have and perhaps should have been a victory. However, the fact that the Jazz blew another fourth quarter lead, missed out on an opportunity to beat the Clippers without Blake Griffin and seemingly forgot how to play perimeter defense in the final minutes isn’t what stings the most.

The worst part about the game was Alec Burks‘ nasty fall that resulted in a fractured fibula that will leave him sidelined for at least the next six weeks.

The Jazz have already been without the services of Rudy Gobert whose absence has been heavily felt. There is still no concrete timeline on Gobert’s return as the sprained MCL has him sidelined for the foreseeable future. The Jazz were also forced to face the Clippers without Derrick Favors, who has arguably been their best player this season. Favors missed the game against the Clippers due to back spasms and is now listed as questionable for Monday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers.

With Burks and Favors out, the Jazz who rank just 24th in the league in points per game are now without two of their top three scorers. In Gobert’s absence, Favors has done a formidable job protecting the rim, but with both of them out the Jazz defense will be faced with an extremely tough task.

Utah’s bench players, which with the exception of Burks aren’t exactly known as a force to be reckoned with, will have to play out of their minds to simply keep the Jazz afloat and in the playoff picture. The Jazz managed to thrive in the second half of last season even while Burks was sidelined with a shoulder injury. But with both of their starting big men also out, maintaining a positive win-loss record seems like a tall task this time around.

More from Jazz News

Yet despite it all, there is a bit of good news. First off, Utah’s next three games are against the Philadelphia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Portland Trail Blazers. This is a favorable trio of teams for the Jazz to take on as they work towards getting healthy.

Still, with three key players out, the Jazz will still have to be cautious. The hapless 2-30 Sixers did recently find a way to beat the Phoenix Suns who are only two games behind the Jazz in the standings. The Timberwolves have had some surprising success this year despite being such a young team and the Trail Blazers are coming off two big wins including a blow out over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.

Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

The next bit of good news is that Favors’ injury shouldn’t keep him out for long. If he needs to rest against the Sixers, that is still a game that the Jazz should be able to win and it wouldn’t be surprising if he is ready to roll by the time the team heads to Minnesota. Unfortunately, the Jazz begin a tough stretch against the Grizzles, Rockets and Spurs starting on January 2nd.

However, it was originally presumed that Gobert could be back by early January, so if by any chance that is the case, it will provide an enormous lift for the Jazz going into those three challenging games.

If only there was more good news about Alec Burks. Unfortunately, the nasty fall he took will keep him sidelined for at least six weeks, which means he will miss a key stretch during the months of January and February as the Jazz try to push above .500 going into the All-Star Break.

The only bit of good news that comes along with this is that Burks’ injury will not require surgery, which obviously would have put him out longer. At least that provides a little bit of a bright side.

Needless to say, the Jazz are in for their biggest challenge yet. Adversity has struck all season long beginning with Dante Exum‘s torn ACL in the preseason. After each seemingly insurmountable obstacle, the Jazz have found a way to bounce back. Despite Exum’s absence and Gobert’s lingering injuries, the Jazz still somehow hold onto a 12-16 record, good for eighth in the West, a game ahead of the enclosing Sacramento Kings.

Difficult as it may be, the Jazz have to find a way to capitalize against weaker opponents in the upcoming three-game stretch.

While Gobert and Favors are certainly irreplaceable, now will be the time for Trevor Booker and Jeff Withey to really step up. The Jazz have been without the services of Burks before and were able to respond with solid play from the likes of Rodney Hood, Joe Ingles and Elijah Millsap. Just as Trey Burke has improved his game in the wake of Exum’s injury, Ingles and Millsap will need to adopt the “next man up” mentality and fill in the void left by Burks.

While this is all easier said than done, the Jazz can find reassurance in knowing that no team reached greatness without overcoming seemingly unconquerable obstacles along the way. The lessons of perseverance and toughness that come from these unfortunate setbacks could eventually propel the Jazz to unmatched heights in the long run.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com/stats

Home/Jazz News