This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Derrick Favors has seen how good the Utah Jazz are without him.
With the power forward watching from behind the bench or the training room or stuck inside his own home, the Jazz have managed a 17-14 record this season, led by Gordon Hayward, Rudy Gobert and George Hill.
But as the playoffs begin this weekend, Favors believes he can be his team's X-factor against the Los Angeles Clippers.
"Guys are used to playing against Gordon, Rudy, George. But I haven't been 100 percent yet, so I think I can make a big impact and bring something different," Favors said. "That's why I pushed myself so hard."
Favors has hardly been himself on the court. A year removed from All-Star consideration, when he was averaging better than 16 points and eight rebounds per game, Favors hardly has looked himself. In 49 games played, and limited by his leg during many of those games, Favors has been able to muster only 9.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest this season.
He's missed 31 games and most of his training camp due to a series of knee injuries that seemed to never quite heal. It has been agonizing for both Favors and his teammates, who have had to watch him struggle through it all.
"It's always frustrating when somebody has to sit and comes back and has to sit again," Gobert said.
Favors' best efforts, perhaps, have been behind the scenes.
"We've talked about competing on health," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "He's been competing to get back. Sometimes you just see the performances on the floor and you don't see the cones, the treatments, the lifting and all the things you have to do. I know it's easier to embrace playing than that. He's embraced the rehabilitation process."
Said shooting guard Rodney Hood, "He's been hungry."
After missing 14 straight games in March and April, Favors has been able to return to the court for the final week of the season, trying to tune up for the postseason. He scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds in his first game back, a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves last Friday.
"It's not surprising," Gobert said afterward. "I've seen him off the court, the way he works."
But Favors was limited to 14 minutes against Portland the following night, before sitting out the following game at Golden State to rest his knee.
The Jazz have been able to get by without Favors thanks in no small part to the small-ball contributions from veteran Joe Johnson, who has filled in as a stretch-four in Snyder's system. But against the Clippers, the Jazz will need all the help they can get to try to slow down forward Blake Griffin.
"I've said many times, you can't replace a Derrick Favors," Hayward said. "To have him back out on the court, just his presence, is amazing for us. … Any time you can get from him is good."
And after a disappointing season, Favors is looking to turn around his fortunes when it matters most for his team.
Favors has suffered through the Jazz's rebuilding process and now the struggles of building himself back up from injury.
"That's one of the main reasons I pushed myself so hard during treatment," Favors said. "I tried to push myself hard because I wanted to come back. I wanted to be a part of it."
Twitter: @aaronfalk