Jazz's Rodney Hood: Cleared to play Saturday, expected to start

Hood (lower leg) will play Saturday against the Spurs, Andy Larsen of KSL.com reports. According to Paul Garcia of TheSportsDaily.com, Hood is expected to start.

As expected, Hood is set to return after missing the Jazz's previous six games with a lower left leg bruise. If he does enter the starting lineup in his first game back, Joe Ingles would likely shift to a reserve role. In 12 starts this season, Hood is averaging 17.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists across 29.4 minutes per game.