Injuries are a part and parcel of the beautiful game that basketball is. When a player is injured before a match, they are benched to give them rest and not hamper their long-term health. However, proper protocol is followed to allow a player to sit out. They have to send in documentation and examination information to the league for any injury to miss the game. The Utah Jazz has almost half its team sitting out today’s match against the San Antonio Spurs.
Utah Jazz benching half the team
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The Utah Jazz is short 5 players because of injuries for their match against the Spurs on Friday, August 7. Three of those are their key players, namely Donovan Mitchell, Mike Conley, and Rudy Gobert. The two others are Royce O’Neale and Nigel Williams-Goss. This does not worry them as they have already clinched the fourth position in the Western Conference Playoffs.
Jazz Injury Report:
Mike Conley – OUT (right knee soreness)
Rudy Gobert – OUT (rest)
Donovan Mitchell – OUT (left peroneal strain)
Royce O’Neale – OUT (right calf soreness)
Nigel Williams-Goss – OUT (left ankle sprain)
Joe Ingles – AVAILABLE (right foot soreness)— utahjazz (@utahjazz) August 6, 2020
However, the Jazz relies very much on Mitchell in their games. He has been the driving force behind Utah reaching the playoffs for two of his first consecutive seasons. He is currently averaging 24 points, 4.2 assists, and 4.4 rebounds. Rudy Gobert, on the other hand, is averaging 15.1 points and 13.6 rebounds this season.
Mike Conley sitting out does not come as much of a surprise. He has been struggling on and off with injuries in the past years. Those who will have to play major roles in the match against the Spurs are Tony Bradley, Joe Ingles, Jordan Clarkson, and Emmanuel Mudiay.
The San Antonio Spurs are only down two players. Tyler Zeller is out because of a right knee injury, and Bryan Forbes will also be sitting out.
Can this be a strategy?
The move to bench its most prominent players can also be a strategy by the Utah Jazz. It is surprising as to why all of their starters are being made to sit or is it a rest? They all have very minor injuries, but the reason could be that they need these players to get some rest before they play the Denver Nuggets.
Moreover, the bigger strategy could be that even if they drop down to the sixth seed, they could end up against the Nuggets, which may be less threatening to them than playing the Houston Rockets or Oklahoma City Thunder. However, the strategy may not even be successful. The Jazz is currently shakey on fourth and fifth in the west. A few more games could land them third seed and eventually may have to play the Rockets or Thunder only.
SOURCE: Utah Jazz- Twitter
