Utah Jazz backup point guard Raul Neto appears to be inching closer to a return from his fractured wrist as he is set to be reevaluated in one week.
With the Utah Jazz battling for playoff position in the Western Conference, they are going to need all hands on deck. Raul Neto may not be a regular part of the Jazz rotation when the team is fully healthy, but he’s a great guy to have on the bench and is very reliable when he comes into the game. You know what you’re going to get from him.
Since suffering a wrist injury on March 11th against the New Orleans Pelicans, Neto has been showing progress, and even recently shed his wrist brace. While losing Neto hurt the Jazz, they did get another point guard back from injury shortly after, as Dante Exum made his season debut on March 15th against the Phoenix Suns.
Exum will likely continue to serve as the backup point guard behind Ricky Rubio, and Neto will be the third-string. Neto has appeared in 39 games this season, consistently giving the Jazz defense, shooting and playmaking abilities off the bench.
The wrist injury isn’t the only injury Neto has dealt with this season. He’s actually been pretty banged up all year long, and the Jazz certainly hope he can stay healthy moving forward.
Raul Neto working with coach Igor Kokoskov before the game. Neto’s wrist is taped, but he’s not wearing the brace anymore. pic.twitter.com/QpSMiMJ3m5
— Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) March 25, 2018
Neto has had quad tightness, hamstring soreness, foot soreness, a concussion, a sprained knee, a sprained ankle and now the fractured wrist. It’s been a tough season in terms of durability for the 25 year old from Brazil.
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The Jazz have eight games remaining this season, and hopefully they can get Neto back before the regular season is over. Neto will miss the next three games at least, but could be back after that depending on how the reevaluation on his wrist goes.