Derrick Favors has had a rough go of things this season, as lingering knee problems have limited him to just 47 games. Even while playing -- often under a minutes restriction -- Favors just hasn’t looked like his usual self. His averages of 9.6 points and 6.2 rebounds are his lowest marks in four years.
Sunday night, the Utah Jazz and Favors learned that the big man’s season has hit another road bump, as Favors was diagnosed with a bone bruise on his left knee. The Georgia Tech product has missed the Jazz’s last two games and now it’s unclear when he will return to the court.
via the Utah Jazz press release
Favors was examined Saturday by the Utah Jazz medical staff and underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) testing, the results of which showed a bone contusion on his left knee. In order to allow the injury proper time to heal, he will continue to receive treatment and will be reevaluated later this week. Further updates will be provided when appropriate.
Even though Favors hasn’t been at his best this season, this is still bad news for Utah. There’s only a month left in the regular season, and if this injury lingers it leaves little time for Favors to return and shake off any rust he acquires before the start of the postseason. Utah will want a healthy Favors alongside Rudy Gobert if the Jazz hope to make a run in the postseason.
As a more immediate problem, the Jazz play the Clippers on Monday night in a massive game for playoff seeding. The Jazz are currently in fourth place and hold a one game lead over the Clippers for home court advantage in the first round. With the Clippers already 2-0 against the Jazz this year, a win Monday night would not only draw them even with Utah for the fourth seed, but would clinch the tiebreaker between them, giving the Clippers the inside track at getting home court in the first round.
With Blake Griffin back and DeAndre Jordan a terror inside, this is a big game for Favors to miss. Without him in the lineup, Trey Lyles and Boris Diaw will have to step up if the Jazz want to secure a big win.
