Derrick Favors out with Plantar Fasciitis as Utah Jazz look to plug hole cast by his loss – NBA News
The Utah Jazz are one of the solid middle tier teams in the Western Conference, who are hanging around the 0.5 win ratio this season and could give other teams a run for their money come the end of the season and seriously contend for a spot in the playoffs. The Jazz have been solid at home, and have defeated some big teams in both conferences. However, with a young and aspiring team like the Jazz, the last thing they need is for external factors to hinder their progression, and that is exactly what is happening to them at the moment.
Derrick Favors, the Jazz’s solid scorer and defender off the bench, has been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, as reported by the Deseret News. The injury had been suspected for some time and it was confirmed after Favors underwent an MRI scan. The injury puts Favors out of the team line-up for some considerable time, as Plantar Fasciitis requires plenty of rest to heal and can come back to haunt the player if he rushes back from the injury and does not take the proper rest.
The Jazz are, hence, looking at a considerable amount of time without Favors, their most efficient player off the bench. Although Favors gets limited minutes a game due to the fact that Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap have the front court locked for the team, his value on the defensive end as well as his spurts of energy are important for the team. He is averaging 9.3 points and 7.5 assists per game for the Jazz this season, and will be badly missed by the Jazz.
However, Favors is a key player in the Jazz line up, the kind of player that the team would want to have around February after the All Star break. Hence, they need to ensure that he takes the proper rest required for the injury to heal and does not rush back from the injury. With the way the Jazz are placed in the Western Conference, they are likely to have a tough battle against three of four other teams for the final three spots of the Western Conference, and need their entire arsenal ready and well rested come the end of the season.
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