Jazz's Mike Conley to Be Reevaluated Before Round 2 After Hamstring Injury

Utah Jazz guard Mike Conley suffered a mild hamstring sprain during Game 5 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Memphis Grizzlies and will be re-evaluated before the second-round tips off, the team announced Thursday.

Conley, 33, averaged 17.4 points, 8.6 assists and 38 rebounds in five games against Memphis and will have a bit of time to recover as Utah awaits the winner of a first-round series between the Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks to determine its next opponent. Dallas leads the series 3-2 with Game 6 slated for Friday night. 

Conley played just 12 minutes in the series-clincher against the Grizzlies after going over 30 minutes in each of the first four games. The veteran said he let the trainers know as soon as he felt the muscle act up and the team decided to play it safe. 

“In the first quarter, I felt just the little tug or whatever in my hammy,” Conley said after the win. “I made the bench and made the staff aware … but it just kept getting more and more sore as I was running on it so they decided to pull me.”

The Jazz are fortunate to roster the Sixth-Man of the Year in Jordan Clarkson and his runner-up in Joe Ingles. The two were able to step-up in Game 5 with Clarkson, in particular, notching 24 points, three assists and two steals. 

Look for him to earn more minutes in the Western Conference Semifinals if Conley isn't ready to go for Game 1. Either way, it doesn't sound like Conley expects to remain on the sidelines for too long. 

“It’s playoffs so my mindset is I’ll be ready to play,” Conley told Sarah Todd of the Deseret News. “We’re gonna just see what happens in next few days and be smart about how we approach it going into this next series.”