Jazz forward Paul Millsap said that he will attempt to play tonight against the Atlanta Hawks. He is officially questionable, and is recovering from a bruised right hip that limited his participation during a morning shootaround at EnergySolutions Arena.
The injury is the most serious one that Millsap has received this season, with the pain also affecting his back and overall motion. He will not know until just prior to tipoff whether he will take the court, and will balance his personal desire to play with what is best for the Jazz.
"It's very sore; really sore. It's hard to put weight on it," Millsap said. "So we'll see what happens."
He added: "I doubt if I can get up and down the court like I wanted to. Can't really jump off of it. My whole right side just really don't work right now."
Millsap has played in all 35 games this season for Utah. He leads the team in field goal percentage (57.1), while ranking second in points (17.5) and rebounds (8).
The fifth-year veteran has missed just six contests during his entire career, and has hit the 82-game mark three times. He takes pride in not sitting out, and will think about whether he can play tonight throughout the day.
"This is something different … I don't know what's going to happen," said Millsap, who suffered the injury while taking a charge.
If Millsap is inactive, Utah could insert C.J. Miles or Gordon Hayward into the starting lineup, which would likely move starting small forward Andrei Kirilenko to power forward.
— Brian T. Smith
Twitter: tribjazz
