The Utah Jazz will be without Mike Conley yet again on Thursday when they wrap up their three-game road trip in New Orleans.
When it was announced that Mike Conley would be travelling for the Utah Jazz’s three-game road trip to Washington, Brooklyn and New Orleans, there was optimism that his return would therefore be imminent. After all, he hadn’t gone on the last trip so he could stay back in SLC to rehab, so his mere presence left some thinking he could be back sooner rather than later.
Unfortunately, instead Conley will once again be out of action for the Jazz in Thursday’s bout against the New Orleans Pelicans as he continues to deal with a hamstring strain.
Jazz injury report:
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 15, 2020
Mike Conley - OUT (left hamstring strain)
Ironically enough, the Jazz have actually surged in Conley’s absence as they’ve now won ten straight games and 15 of their last 16 bouts. Nevertheless, there’s no denying that the team needs him back in order to reach their utmost ceiling. They’ve been good against mediocre teams without him, but in order to be great against elite teams, they’ll need the Memphis Grizzlies version of Mike Conley to be in full force while donning the blue, green and gold.
The reality about Conley’s injury and absence is that he probably could have hit the court some games ago. There have been multiple reports that he’s looked good in practice and has been getting shots up with ease afterwards, so if it was absolutely critical, Mike probably could be on the floor. However, considering that his last return lasted about three quarters before he re-injured himself, it’s clear why the Jazz would want to be cautious with him this time around and not rush him back.
Ultimately, Conley needs to be healthy for Utah’s eventual postseason run, so if he has to miss a few extra games in January to be ready to go in April, so be it. Clearly, the Jazz and Conley himself are exercising a trait that the prolific point guard alluded to in a succinct tweet on Wednesday:
https://twitter.com/MCONLEY10/status/1217648938813050880
Patience.
There’s no doubt that no one is itching to have Conley back in action more than the man himself. It will surely be a relief for him when he can once again hit the court and help elevate his Jazz teammates even higher than they’ve been on this 10-game win streak.
It’s unfortunate that Conley will miss Thursday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans. But the Jazz still have a handful of very winnable games before the schedule takes a nasty turn on January 25th when they will initiate a run wherein they’ll face off against 10 playoff-caliber teams in a row leading up to the All-Star break. Ideally, Mike will make his return before that stretch so he can get a few games under his belt to prepare for that crucial set of games.
While there was optimism that Conley would return on the current road trip, that unfortunately won’t be the case. Nevertheless, on the bright side, he appears to be progressing well as the Jazz use caution with him, and he could still very well get some games in before Utah’s opponents increase significantly in difficulty.