Jazz Conley Listed As Questionable Ahead Of Clippers Game One
Jun 7, 2021, 5:06 PM | Updated: 6:44 pm
Mike Conley #10 of the Utah Jazz reacts after being fouled against the Denver Nuggets during the third quarter in Game Three of the Western Conference First Round during the 2020 NBA Playoffs at AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 21, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Jazz have listed Mike Conley as questionable ahead of Tuesday’s game one against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The veteran guard suffered a strained hamstring in the first quarter of Wednesday’s game five close-out victory over the Memphis Grizzlies before missing the second half of the game.
On Thursday, the team announced Conley had mild strain after re-aggravating the nagging injury in the first round.
Mike Conley is listed as questionable ahead of tomorrow nights game one for the @utahjazz against the @LAClippers.
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) June 7, 2021
“The first quarter I felt a little tug or whatever in my hammy, I came to the bench and made the staff aware,” Conley said. “I told them I’d try to just run on it and play through it and see how it feels, and it just kept getting sorer and sorer the more I was running on it.”
After closing out their opening-round series, Conley has had five days off between series as the Clippers needed seven games to close out the Dallas Mavericks.
Conley has been undergoing treatment on the injury and participated in parts of the team’s practice on Monday but was not made available to the media.
The veteran has been a critical piece of the Jazz success this season averaging 16.2 points, 6.0 assists, and 3.5 rebounds in his second year with the team. Owning the best record in the NBA, Coney was named an All-Star for the first time in his 13-year NBA career.
Rarely has Conley’s impact been so apparent as it was when the Jazz beat the Clippers in a New Year’s Day matchup in Utah.
Mike Conley has a mild right hamstring strain the @utahjazz said.
He'll be re-evaluated ahead of the Western Conference Semifinals. #takenote https://t.co/3Mcvr6LyCZ
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) June 3, 2021
The guard scored a season-high 33 points on 11-20 shooting while dishing out seven assists in the 106-100 victory. As the Clippers geared their defense towards slowing down All-Star teammate Donovan Mitchell, Conley abused the lengthy Los Angeles defense.
Conley again proved his value in the Jazz opening-round playoff series victory averaging 20 points, 10.3 assists, and 4.8 rebounds before leaving game five with the injury against his former team.
The guard missed 21 games this season due to his ailing hamstring which he first injured in February.
The Jazz tried to cautious with the injury, resting Conley for six games initially, then on either end of back-to-back games. The guard suffered a setback in late April and missed nine of the team’s 11 games to close the regular season.
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In Conley’s 21 games missed, the Jazz had a record of 15-6.
If Conley is expected to miss multiple games with the injury, the Jazz do have a more than adequate replacement in guard Joe Ingles. The veteran Australian averaged 14.7 points, 5.8 assists, and 3.8 rebounds while shooting an impeccable 47 percent from the floor and 43 perent from the three-point line.
Ingles has appeared in 39 playoff games for Jazz, 35 of which he has started.
The Jazz open their second-round series against the Clippers on Tuesday at 8 pm MT. The game will be broadcast on TNT.
