This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah Jazz forward Derrick Favors has been ruled out for Wednesday night's game against the Milwaukee Bucks as he continues to deal with the lingering effects of the bone bruise in his knee that already cost him a month of the season.
Favors went through pregame warmups Saturday night before the Jazz ruled him out against Memphis because, as coach Quin Snyder said, the forward had "no life" in his legs. In the days since, Favors has worked on conditioning during practices but has not participated in contact drills.
Asked if there was concern over Favors' issues, Snyder had only this to say Wednesday morning: "I get in a position where I'm commenting on medical issues and it's irresponsible of me. I try to provide information. We feel like he's been doing good and we want to make sure he's at his best."
Favors missed about a month of action in November and December while dealing with a bone bruise in his knee. And while he had been a regular starter for the Jazz over the past six weeks, he hadn't looked like a player at full strength.
Favors said last week he wanted to avoid any setbacks with the injury.
Still, the Jazz could have used the 6-10 forward Saturday against Memphis' bruising frontcourt.
"It really showed up last game. Just the physical toughness that he has defensively," shooting guard Rodney Hood said when asked what the Jazz miss most with Favors sidelined. "Offensively, he makes big plays, putting people in the rim, dunking the ball. We needed that."
Favors was one of the last players to leave the practice court following Wednesday morning's shootaround. Working with assistant coach Antonio Lang, Favors ran through some cone drills to test his lateral movement and took jump shots, extending out to 3-point range.
"We just want him to get healthy," Hood said. "We'll be all right until he gets back."
—Aaron Falk