The Utah Jazz released their injury report, and it looks like there’s at least one small surprise on it.
It looks like the Jazz will be without Tony Bradley for their opener, which means they’ll be without two of their centers. That leaves them with Jaxson Hayes and
Mo Bamba. This puts Will Hardy in a difficult situation. Mo Bamba hasn’t looked like he’ll provide impactful rotation minutes, but he may have to. It will also push Jaren Jackson Jr. to improve on his foul rate. Jackson has been in foul trouble all preseason, and the Jazz need him on the floor as long as they can. He may also be getting more minutes at center than the Jazz appear comfortable with. Utah has been playing Jaxson Hayes at center alongside Jackson Jr., but that hasn’t helped the foul rate much.
But maybe this is weirdly a good thing? This might force the Jazz to play JJJ at center more, which would mean more minutes for Ace Bailey, who has been a revelation this preseason. We’ll see what happens tomorrow, but it seems Ace Bailey is the player needed to fill that void, and that’s going to be fun to watch.
