SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Dec. 27, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — Donovan Mitchell did not travel with the Utah Jazz for their two-game road trip due to back strain, and it’s not clear when he will be back on the court.
“Dealing with a lower left back strain suffered in the first quarter of Saturday’s victory over the Dallas Mavericks, Mitchell’s timeline to return is unknown,” said a news release from the Utah Jazz. “You can imagine Utah will be cautious with him, already having said multiple times that the team will prioritize health this season to make a deeper postseason run.”
The team is playing their first game without Mitchell on Monday night, facing the San Antonio Spurs in Texas.
“The Jazz must find a way to replace Mitchell’s 25.4 points per game with him out,” the news release said. “While that won’t all fall on Joe Ingles, an uptick in his shooting numbers is expected from a volume perspective. Also, look for Jordan Clarkson, who has no issue taking more shots, and Mike Conley to be relied upon.”
Much of the scoring pressure will fall on Bojan Bogdanovic and Rudy Gobert, the news release said.
On Wednesday, the Jazz play the Portland Trail Blazers at the Moda Center in Portland at 6 p.m.
