Utah Jazz Notes: Rudy Gobert and Alec Burks Out, Jeff Withey Accusations

Alec Burks joins Rudy Gobert on the Utah Jazz injury report and Jeff Withey faces some disturbing accusations in wake of Game 3 of the Jazz-Clippers series.

When the Utah Jazz take the floor in Game 3 of their playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers tomorrow night, they will be without the services of center Rudy Gobert once again who is still dealing with the hyper-extended knee and bone bruise he suffered in Game 1. Although his continued absence is most certainly disappointing, it also comes as little surprise.

However, what was surprising was that Gobert’s name wasn’t alone on the injury report for tomorrow’s game. In fact, he will be joined by a player who has yet to see any time in the playoffs this season, but who has been a mainstay on the injury report throughout his career – Alec Burks.

According to a report from the Utah Jazz, Burks received a platelet rich plasma (PRP) injection in his left knee which will keep him sidelined for tomorrow’s action and perhaps beyond, though no official time frame has been released. Burks has struggled with injuries throughout his career and at this point, the announcement almost seems par for the course.

Fortunately (or I suppose unfortunately depending on how you look at it) Alec Burks has found himself very much out of the rotation during the playoffs so while it would be nice if he could be healthy and providing the Jazz bench with a lift, it’s likely that his absence will largely go unnoticed.

Hopefully the injection will end up being a positive step forward and that ultimately it will allow Burks to make a full and active recovery at some point down the road.

In other news off of the basketball court, a disturbing report emerged today on TMZ that Jeff Withey‘s ex-fiancee, Playboy Playmate Kennedy Summers, has accused the Jazz center of domestic violence during their relationship.

The Withey-Summers drama has been well documented throughout their time dating, being engaged and the eventual breakup and now this latest development makes for an odd twist. Given that they called off the engagement back near the end of 2016, it seems odd that this accusation would just now arise.

According to the TMZ report, Summers only just filed the report now due to the fact that the playoff series takes the Jazz to LA where she feared for her safety with Withey in the area. The timing does seem a little odd, but until the current investigation is complete there’s no sense making any unfounded assumptions either way.

It should come as no surprise, but KSL’s Andy Larsen recently reported that the Jazz are keeping quiet about the situation, clearly also taking the time to get the facts before issuing anything official. When asked about the accusations, Quin Snyder said that it would be “irresponsible” to comment without further information.

However, from the aforementioned report from Andy Larsen, Withey’s lawyer, Alan Jackson of Werksman Jackson Hathaway & Quinn LLP, sure had a much stronger statement on the matter:

"“These salacious and patently false allegations appear to be nothing more than a vicious and calculated attempt by an angry former girlfriend to damage Mr. Withey’s good reputation. It is no coincidence that these fabricated claims conveniently come during the middle of the NBA playoffs, or that TMZ and the police department were notified on the same day. There is no truth to the accusations, and when the facts come to light we are confident that the falsity of the claims, and the true motivations of the person behind them, will be exposed.”"

The accusations do come at an interesting time as Withey has played an important role as backup center for the Jazz in Gobert’s absence. For the sake of all parties involved, one can only hope that Withey isn’t guilty of what Summers has claimed, but if proof is discovered and a punishment is doled out, the Jazz may find themselves relying on the less proven Trey Lyles and Joel Bolomboy moving forward.

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Regardless of how things turn out with the Withey accusations, his teammates (and Withey himself if he is deemed innocent and remains with the team) will have to overcome these distractions and be ready to go for a critical Game 3 in Salt Lake tomorrow.

The Jazz will look to take a 2-1 lead over the Clippers when they take the floor in Vivint Smart Home Arena tomorrow night at 8:00 pm MT.