Gordon Hayward Injury: Updates on Jazz Star's Finger and Return
Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward aggravated a finger injury against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday. Although X-rays were negative, according to the Salt Lake Tribune's Steve Luhm, an official date for his return has yet to be announced.
Continue for updates.
Hayward Out vs. Warriors
Thursday, Dec. 8
The Jazz announced that Hayward would not play Thursday against Golden State after he missed shootaround in the morning.
Jazz Need Hayward Healthy to Make Playoff Push
Over his first six years in the league, Hayward has grown from a role player to a dynamic scorer and one of Utah's best players.
The 26-year-old averaged 19.7 points per game on 43.3 percent shooting, including a 34.9 percent clip from three-point range, last year. According to Spotrac, he's earning a little more than $16 million this year, which is a bargain in today's NBA financial climate. For the season, he's averaging 23.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.
Expectations are high for the Jazz in 2016-17. Rudy Gobert is one of the top rim protectors in the league, and the arrival of George Hill gave Utah the point guard it sorely lacked in 2015-16, when it finished a game out of the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
Hayward's injury will likely remind fans of Gobert's sprained MCL that left him out for more than a month last season. The Jazz went 7-11 during that stretch. Losing Hayward for a similarly long period would be a major blow.
The Jazz are a deeper team, though, after adding Hill and Joe Johnson. Rodney Hood continues to improve as well, so he can help make up for the scoring Utah will lose without Hayward.
