Utah Jazz: Fans Need to Chillax on Player Injuries

Editorial — With injuries mounting, a vocal minority of Utah Jazz fans are questioning the team’s overall toughness. However, the Jazz are taking the right approach.

When the Utah Jazz take the floor against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night, they may have an extra hand on deck for a change. Check that — something marginally closer to the regular amount of hands is probably a better way to put it.

Gordon Hayward, who reaggravated his finger injury earlier this week, is currently listed as probable to play against DeMarcus Cousins and Co.

Unfortunately, the good news probably ends there. Rodney Hood (hamstring) is likely to sit, while George Hill (toe), Derrick Favors (knee) and Alec Burks (knee) are all out with no clear return dates.

There’s no denying it — injuries bite. Although the Jazz have managed to stay afloat in the West despite the mounting body count, their shorthandedness has definitely cost them some games through the first quarter of the season.

As a result of the unending barrage of injuries, there’s a segment of the Jazz fanbase that is growing impatient.

After two decades of John Stockton and Karl Malone playing through pain (and having the good fortune to largely avoid the devastating injuries that are commonplace in the league), the bar has been set impossibly high for the current Jazz crew. And when players don’t meet unreasonable expectations of health, a vocal minority among Jazz Nation begins to chirp.

In the last week, I’ve seen strange fan theories emerge on Twitter about Brian Zettler’s methodology as head athletic trainer, Quin Snyder supposedly pushing the team too hard in practice and even players’ footwear being called into question.

There’s also been a lot of talk about the toughness of Jazz players, with some questioning the severity of injuries. In my personal life, people have asked me whether Hayward’s recently broken finger actually affects his play or if Hill is, in fact, made of glass.

Some fans even go so far as to wonder about players’ desire to get back on the floor. It’s crazy.

Leave it to Hayward to be the voice of reason on the matter. When asked about some of the impatience regarding injuries or the expectation that players should be able to match Stockton and Malone’s durability by Jody Genessy of the Deseret News, the Jazz star had this to say —

"I know that there’s certain times where it’s not our decision to not play. There are certain times where guys want to play and the coaching staff and the training staff feel like it’s in the team’s best interest to not play, to recover and to get right so you can be healthier at the end of the season. Some of it just is there are certain injuries you really can’t play with, so it’s unfortunate what’s happened. I don’t think that’s fair [comparison to Stockton and Malone]. I don’t think we have soft guys on the team. It’s a combination of a lot of things when guys can’t play."

Hayward’s statements ring true, and in a column by The Salt Lake Tribune’s Gordon Monson, Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey was quoted with similar comments about his players’ desire to be on the court.

Said Lindsey —

"That’s not the case with any particular injury that we have, that we think a player is wimping out. Actually, it’s the exact opposite. Usually, nine times of 10, you have to hold players back. There was a lot of internal communication relative to Gordon [Hayward]’s injury. It was centered on, ‘We’ve got to make sure we protect him first.’ He immediately wanted to play through a broken finger. And the medical opinion was that wasn’t the wisest approach. … A lot of times we have to protect players from themselves.”"

The fact of the matter is this — sometimes guys get hurt. Not by any fault of their own or of the team, but just because of dumb luck (or a lack thereof).

George Hill can’t really stop Derrick Rose from pointlessly slapping at his hands for a ball he was never going to get and messing up his thumb. And Gordon Hayward didn’t choose to get his hand caught up in a teammate’s jersey during practice either.

Those things just happened. And despite what certain fans think, both Hill and Hayward were probably more than willing to play through the pain. It’s just not smart to do so most of the time.

More from The J-Notes

The 2016-17 season has been a frustrating one because of the injuries. So too was last season, with Burks, Favors and Rudy Gobert all missing large chunks of time. But calling the players or the team out for fluke happenings doesn’t get them healthier any sooner. It just causes those doing the calling out a lot of aggravation.

Stockton and Malone were great, but their careers are the exception, not the rule.

So chillax, guys. The Jazz aren’t keen on giving their guys paid vacations and players aren’t looking for them either. The NBA is a grind and things like this are bound to happen. The injury bug is biting hard now, but it can’t keep it up forever.

Keep the faith, fam.

Home/Jazz News