Gordon Hayward exits Clippers game with leg injury

In a critical loss Saturday, the Utah Jazz also had to deal with Gordon Hayward’s leg injury that forced him to leave the game in the fourth quarter.

In a potential first round playoff preview, the Utah Jazz played the Los Angeles Clippers on the road Saturday afternoon. Not only did the Jazz lose that pivotal contest that would’ve bolstered their status as the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference, but their star player may be banged up now as well.

Early in the fourth quarter, Gordon Hayward asked to come out of the game after banging knees with Austin Rivers and went to the locker room. He re-entered the game a few minutes later, but once again asked to come out.

The Utah Jazz broadcast team on NBA League Pass called it “left knee soreness,” but this is obviously a concern that extends far beyond one March game with implications for playoff positioning.

According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, Hayward rested the final portion of the game with an ice pack on his knee. MacMahon later reported that head coach Quin Snyder said he should be fine and the injury was a bruised muscle in his leg, not a knee issue.

Rudy Gobert has come on strong for the Jazz lately and is clearly the most valuable defender for the NBA’s third-ranked defense, but Gordon Hayward still might be Utah’s most valuable player. Obviously this isn’t good news, but before fans go assuming the worst, there are a few signs that this is only a minor injury.

For starters, it seems to have happened after a contact injury, which means it could just be a bruise after banging knees. A non-contact injury would’ve been even more worrisome.

It’s also reassuring that Hayward re-entered the contest and played for a bit until the score was out of reach. Him sitting out and icing the leg could just be a precaution since the game was already decided.

In his first All-Star season, Hayward has been averaging 22.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 46.5 percent from the field and 39.2 percent from three-point range. If he misses significant time, Utah’s promising season could be over in the first round of the playoffs.

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With Saturday’s loss preventing the Jazz from owning the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Clippers, and only 0.5 games separating the two teams in the standings, here’s hoping Hayward’s leg injury isn’t a more serious concern.