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Derrick Favors is back.

Officially.

The announcement by the Jazz on Friday afternoon confirmed Favors will play in tonight's home opener against the Los Angeles Lakers. The power forward's IT Band Syndrome healed enough for him to be on the floor. Yet, there are still several questions that need to be answered.

How much will Favors play?

Probably not his usual 30 minutes against the Lakers. Favors will be on a minutes restriction, Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. How much of a restriction hasn't been determined. But he will probably be a starter, and probably be limited to around 20 minutes. It's something the Jazz typically do when re-integrating a player back from injury. And since Favors hasn't seen action since the preseason-opener, he's going to need some time to get back into basketball shape.

What kind of player will Favors be?

Good question. He scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds in his one preseason appearance. Favors has been doing quite a bit of skill work with assistant coach Tony Lang in the past week, so it's not like he simply hasn't picked up a ball. The better clue will be how well he's running up and down the floor, and whether he has his normal explosiveness, things like that.

Why bring Favors back now?

The Jazz need him. Utah faces the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday, which means Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. The Jazz face the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, which means Pau Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge. Following tonight, the Jazz will see what are probably the two best frontcourts in the league three times in their next four games (The Jazz see the Spurs twice next week). Especially with Gordon Hayward out, Utah needs all of the healthy bodies it can get.

The Jazz enter Friday's matchup with an 0-1 record, while the Lakers have won their only game against the Houston Rockets. Of course, the last time these two teams met, Kobe Bryant scored 60 points in his final NBA game. Los Angeles has a new coach in Luke Walton. The Lakers have a new outlook, and they have a mix of experienced veterans with some real nice young pieces, such as D'Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle and Brandon Ingram.

"They have a lot of talent and athleticism," Snyder said.

— Tony Jones