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Utah Jazz guard Rodney Hood is expected to be inactive until after the All-Star break, league sources told The Salt Lake Tribune on Saturday night.
Hood has missed the past four games with a bone contusion on his right knee, coupled with a Grade 1 lateral collateral ligament (LCL) sprain, after sustaining a right knee hyperextension on Feb. 1 against the Milwaukee Bucks. It was the second time that Hood has sustained that type of injury this season, having originally injured it on Jan. 14 late in a victory against the Orlando Magic.
After the Orlando game, the initial thought was it was a potentially serious injury. But a subsequent MRI showed no structural damage, only the hyperextension.
Hood missed five games, returning to action in a 96-88 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 26. Hood struggled in that game, and didn't shoot the ball well or move well in 22 minutes. In Utah's next game, a loss to Memphis, Hood scored 20 points in 31 minutes, shooting 7 of 12 from the field with four 3-pointers. He looked confident, having regained his burst off the dribble and his explosion to the rim.
But the next game was against the Bucks. Trying to navigate his way through traffic, Hood suffered another hyperextension, and immediately limped to the locker room. He walked out of Vivint Smart Home Arena that night under his own power, and said he was not worried about the long-term health of his knee.
Sources say the Jazz feel they dodged a potential bullet with both of Hood's MRIs. Because of that, management wants to make sure their shooting guard is 100 percent healthy before returning.
Utah's first game after the All-Star break is Feb. 24 — at Milwaukee. Should Hood return for that game, he will have had almost a month to heal. The Jazz have games on Monday against the Los Angeles Clippers and Wednesday against the Portland Trail Blazers before the All-Star break.
Hood is in his third season out of Duke, and has averaged 13.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Third-year swingman Joe Ingles has been the starter in Hood's place, with Alec Burks taking on a bigger role off the bench. The Jazz, heading into Saturday night's game against the Boston Celtics, were 7-7 without Hood this season between injury and illness.
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