Joe Johnson exited Monday’s game against the Mavericks before Utah had sealed a win, rubbing his right wrist.
At first, trainers thought it might be a sprain. But further examination has provided some bad news: Utah’s veteran forward will miss at least two weeks with “tendon instability” in the wrist on his shooting arm.
The 17-year-veteran — who helped power the Jazz past the Los Angeles Clippers in the playoffs last year — missed Tuesday’s practice. Even early in the afternoon, coach Quin Snyder suggested that the sprain might not be the final diagnosis: “They’re looking into that further to kind of get a little more in depth.”
An MRI revealed the instability, which may be partly to blame for Johnson’s rough shooting start: He’s only hit 39 percent from the field, missing all eight 3-point attempts in his last four games. Johnson will be reevaluated in two weeks.
The injury likely increases the load for starter Derrick Favors, who has gotten out to a good start to a potential comeback season, averaging 12.6 ppg. It also opens the door for Jonas Jerebko, whom the Jazz signed this summer but has not played significant minutes since arriving in Salt Lake City. The Jazz may also expand into smaller lineups, playing an extra wing with Thabo Sefolosha or Joe Ingles.
Johnson played in 78 of 82 possible regular season games for the Jazz last year while averaging 9.5 ppg. This year he’s averaged 6.3 ppg in roughly 19 minutes per contest. He’s most well known as a crunch-time scorer, earning the nicknames “Iso Joe” and “Joe Jesus” for his ability to back down defenders to notch baskets.
Big men firing from longer range
Before the Jazz tipped against the Mavericks, coach Quin Snyder informed a small circle of people to keep their eyes peeled for Utah’s first play on offense. The only hint he offered was the ball would be going to Rudy Gobert.
A lay-up? A dunk? No: The Jazz opened their 7-foot-1 center at the elbow for a 16-foot jumper that he sunk. Dallas was apparently just as surprised as the crowd: He was wide open.
“That’s a shot he’s been working on,” Snyder said. “I wouldn’t say he showed off range, but it’s similar to his free throw. That is his range.”
Gobert doesn’t get that look much, Snyder said, because the Jazz don’t typically scheme to have him that high in their half-court offense. But with the play-call, Gobert was able to showcase a little touch in his offensive game that has been built up over the offseason.
The very next play was also notable: Derrick Favors hit his first 3-point shot of the year. Snyder said he’s been asking the power forward to step out to the perimeter when shooting from the baseline: He’d rather have him look for a corner 3 than a corner 2.
Since Gobert and Favors teamed up, it’s been a question if the Jazz can space the floor as modern offenses often do. Stretch fours have become more valuable as more teams aim for “position-less” basketball. The Jazz emphasize ball movement, but still play big up front. Snyder said Favors isn’t a “stretch” power forward, but can still space the offense with his shooting.
As for Gobert, the Jazz will still look for him as a hard roller and rim finisher, but the play was a nice flourish that the team could show it has in its tool bag. Snyder said he ran it as the first play so it would be crisper in the team’s execution, and he wanted to reward Gobert for his work on his shot.
“Rudy’s not gonna get a lot of jump shots because his strengths are how he finishes around the basket,” Snyder said, “but that doesn’t mean he’s not capable of making that shot.”
Jazz readying for Blazers matchup
He’s been a fan for a while, but the first time Donovan Mitchell heard from Damian Lillard was just after he had been picked 13th overall by the Jazz.
“He actually texted me and said that he was hoping I slipped to Portland,” he said. “That was kinda crazy, out of nowhere. We’ve been friends ever since.”
Lillard and Mitchell weren’t destined to be teammates this year, but they will be opponents starting Wednesday when the Jazz take on Northwest division rival Portland. The Trail Blazers (4-3) are again led by Weber State product Lillard and backcourt mate C.J. McCollum, who together are averaging nearly 48 points per game.
After being blistered in one half by the Mavericks’ long-range shooters, the Jazz will have to try to contain the No. 2 deep-shooting team in the league (42.1 percent). There’s some similarities to how the Jazz will have to scheme defensively against them, but with the driving threat of Lillard and McCollum, there will be added challenges.
“We’re going to have to be very solid,” Thabo Sefolosha said.