Mike Conley To Miss Fourth Straight Game

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Jazz will be without point guard Mike Conley for a fourth straight game Wednesday when they travel to Minnesota. Conley suffered a hamstring strain in the second half of the Jazz December 2 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Jazz have lost three of the four games they’ve played without Conley, including the game in Philadelphia.

Conley has gotten off to a slow start in his first season with the Jazz, averaging 13.9 points, 4.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds, but is shooting just 37% from both the floor and three-point line. However, with Conley out of the lineup, the Jazz have lost their best pacesetter and a veteran presence to steady the roster on the court

“It’s hard to evaluate the impact of a player of Mike’s caliber,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said, “You always miss good players when they don’t play.”

Joe Ingles has replaced Conley in the starting lineup, leaving an already struggling bench-unit even thinner on playmaking. In Monday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Jazz four main bench players, Emmanuel Mudiay, Georges Niang, Ed Davis, and Jeff Green were outscored by a combined 48 while on the floor.

Conley’s injury is the latest in a string of injuries that have prevented the Jazz from rectifying obvious chemistry issues within the rotation. Recently, starting center Rudy Gobert missed two games with a rolled ankle. Reserve center Ed Davis missed 12 games due to a broken fibula, while Dante Exum was sidelined for the team’s opening 12 games as he recovered from knee surgery.

The Jazz have lost six of eight games heading into their matchup with the Timberwolves while Minnesota has lost their last five contests.