Utah Jazz forwards Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors will be game-time decisions for Tuesday’s game against T-Wolves
By Brad Rowland
The Utah Jazz have been without their best player, Gordon Hayward, for the past five games, and the swingman’s status is still very much up in the air for Tuesday’s night match-up against the Minnesota T-Wolves.
Gordon Hayward (left hip flexor) is participating in shoot around and will be a game-time decision tonight. http://t.co/mfm3lKwZa2 #MINatUTA
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 21, 2014
According to official release, Hayward was available for shoot-around on Tuesday morning, and that lends itself to some positive feelings with regard to his availability, but we won’t know for a few hours (at least) whether he’ll take the court. The 23-year-old swingman currently leads Utah in scoring at 17.1 points per game, and his all-court play (5.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists per game) is extremely valuable for Utah.
Unfortunately, the Jazz will also be dealing with another member of their “core” who has an injury concern.
Derrick Favors (right hip abductor) did not go through shootaround and is a game-time decision tonight #MINatUTA
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 21, 2014
Starting big man Derrick Favors has (ironically) a hip injury, but in his case, this is the first game in which his status has been in question. Favors scored 8 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 26-point blowout loss to these same T-Wolves on Tuesday, but he apparently failed to leave the game unscathed.
With Favors and Hayward in the lineup, the Jazz can certainly be competitive in their home building against a solid but unspectacular Minnesota team. Without them, however, things could get quite dicey for the home team in Salt Lake City. Stay tuned.