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Derrick Favors sat courtside at Smooth King Center, a pair of scissors in hand, waiting to cut the thick roll of tape from the right ankle he sprained last Friday at home against the Miami Heat.

Utah's starting center participated in shootaround on Tuesday morning. He went through all the rigorous running and cutting required to be effective in a basketball game. He appears to have the range of motion back in his foot. That's good news for the Jazz.

Favors is officially listed as questionable for Tuesday night at the New Orleans Pelicans. If Utah is to be competitive against the team with Anthony Davis in its frontcourt, Favors will in all likelihood have to do some of the heavy lifting.

"The ankle feels much better," Favors said. "It's responded to treatment, It's improving a lot. It's getting better, it's a little bit sore every once in a while, but it's getting better."

Favors' availability tonight hinges on how the ankle feels this afternoon. Favors didn't play against the Washington Wizards on Sunday because he experienced swelling on the plane ride out east.

Without Favors against the Wizards, the Jazz were almost lost inside offensively. They didn't have the explosion or the athleticism to consistently finish at the rim. They didn't have Favors' pick-and-pop ability from 15 feet, and that allowed Washington's big men to load up on Gordon Hayward, Trey Burke and Alec Burks and help out when they penetrated the lane.

If Favors plays, the Jazz hope to regain a semblance of balance in their offense, especially on the interior. If Favors doesn't play, Rudy Gobert will once again start in his place. On Sunday, Gobert was good, with seven points and nine rebounds. He appeared to tire out in the second half, as he's not yet accustomed to playing starter-type minutes. In the first half, however, Gobert was a driving force behind the Jazz playing their best defensive first half of the season, allowing just 37 points to an offensively potent Wizards bunch.

— Tony Jones