This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Minneapolis • Gordon Hayward's dunks can bring people out of their seats.

But while fans cheer, Hayward grimaces.

"That's the one time where it really does hurt," the Utah Jazz forward said of his left ring finger, "because I'm putting a lot of weight down and bending my finger grabbing the rim."

Hayward broke the finger when he caught it in a teammate's jersey during a preseason practice and missed the first six games of the year while it healed. The seventh-year pro is still dealing with the effects seven weeks later, and can be seen grabbing his hand in pain a few times each game. But Hayward said he doesn't want to be thinking of ways to avoid aggravating the injury.

"I'm just playing. I'm not thinking about it, which is the way I want to play," he said.

The thought can slip his coach's mind, too, especially as Hayward has averaged 20.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.

"You can forget that, frankly, the guy is playing with a broken finger, which says a lot about his toughness," Quin Snyder said, adding that Hayward's "toughness is an example" to his teammates.

And as Hayward's finger continues to mend, the forward said, he's not going to avoid the rim.

"My finger's getting better, though, so that's all that matters," he said. "If I have to take a little extra time just because I dunked a couple more times, so be it."

Thibs' tour

When Tom Thibodeau arrived in Minnesota, the veteran coach came with a wealth of new knowledge and a breadth of experience. After being fired as the coach of the Chicago Bulls in 2015, Thibodeau spent part of his time bouncing around the league, watching and working with other teams and coaches, including the Jazz.

I tried to get him to put in a couple plays and he actually helped us with a couple of things, because when he was in Chicago, they had some personnel that I felt was similar to our stuff," Snyder said of Thibodeau's visit to Utah. "I learned a lot from him."

Thibodeau said he also spent time with former Jazz coaches Jerry Sloan and Frank Layden and came away impressed with Snyder's practices.

"He had a really good understanding of where his team was with a lot of good young players," Thibodeau said. "He was demanding but in a very good way. Their practices were very intense."

Injury report

Forward Derrick Favors did not travel with his teammates to Minnesota. Monday's game was the sixth in a row Favors has missed due to a bone contusion in his left knee.

Twitter: @aaronfalk