The Utah Jazz will be without starting power forward Derrick Favors, who is dealing with a knee injury, in tonight’s contest against the Atlanta Hawks.
With Dante Exum back in action and after Ricky Rubio dodged an apparent right knee contusion bullet, Utah Jazz fans had to know that it was only a matter of time before their relentless injury bug reared it’s ugly head again. It didn’t take long at all to happen as it’s been announced that Derrick Favors will not play in Tuesday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks due to left knee soreness.
This is an unfortunate development as Favors has been a significant contributor in Utah’s current run of 21 wins in 23 games. During Utah’s active nine-game win streak, he’s averaged 10.3 points on 62.1 percent shooting from the field as well as 6.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks. He’s been an important piece on both ends of the floor and he certainly will be missed.
Derrick Favors is out tomorrow vs. Atlanta with left knee soreness.
— Eric Woodyard (@E_Woodyard) March 19, 2018
Fortunately, CBS Sports had the following to say about the injury, which seems to indicate that it isn’t all that serious and his sitting out is more a precaution to preserve him down the stretch, which likely explains why he’s out during a game that the Jazz should be able to win anyway:
"It’s unclear when Favors suffered the injury or if it’s simply because the NBA regular season is winding down. Either way, the Jazz will be as cautious as possible with their big man and hold him out of Tuesday’s contest. The injury doesn’t sound like anything overly serious, though, so there’s a chance Favors is back in the lineup in time for Thursday’s matchup with the Mavericks."
With Favors sidelined, it will be critical for the likes of Jae Crowder and Jonas Jerebko to step up their game. Luckily, the Jazz have been phenomenal with Crowder in action. The lineup of Ricky Rubio, Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles, Jae Crowder and Rudy Gobert has posted the best net and defensive ratings of any frequently used five-man lineup in the NBA. The Jazz have a team-high net rating of 14.7 with Crowder on the court (minimum of six games played), which drops all the way down to 5.2 when he’s off the court.
Wondering if this is an instance where Quin Snyder will test out the recently observed "death lineup" with Jae Crowder at the 4. It is the best 5-man lineup in defensive rating and net rating in the NBA: pic.twitter.com/IBYwLHUY2D
— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) March 19, 2018
Crowder may still come off the bench as he’s thrived in that sort of sixth man role, but regardless of where he’s at when the game starts, you can bet that the Jazz will rely heavily on him while he’s on the court. Favors’ absence isn’t a good thing by any means, but fortunately the Jazz have enough depth that they should be able to cope just fine, especially against an Atlanta Hawks team that has logged just five wins on the road this season.
Along with Favors, Raul Neto also continues to be sidelined with a left wrist fracture. Thabo Sefolosha is of course out for the season as he recovers from right knee surgery and Tony Bradley is out as he continues to go through concussion protocol.
.@UofUHealth Injury Report for Tomorrow vs. Atlanta
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 19, 2018
Derrick Favors (left knee soreness) is out.
Raul Neto (left wrist fracture) is out.
Thabo Sefolosha (right knee surgery) is out.
Tony Bradley (concussion protocol) is out.
Next: Utah Jazz vs. Atlanta Hawks Key Matchup: Joe Ingles vs. Taurean Prince
Utah will look to overcome those injuries, principally that of starting power forward Derrick Favors, to earn their tenth win in a row as they tip-off against the Atlanta Hawks tonight at 7:00 PM MT.