With the start of the NBA season just under two weeks away, the Utah Jazz learned on Wednesday that they will begin the campaign without a major part of their front court.
Starting center Jusuf Nurkic suffered an injury to his right foot during the team’s first preseason game against his former team, the Denver Nuggets. The official diagnosis is a partial plantar plate tear of the second toe on his right foot, and it was first reported by NBA Insider Chris Haynes on Wednesday evening.
While the Jazz are far from NBA title contenders this year, Nurkic was set to be the anchor of the front court and the team’s top option for rim protection and rebounds. The 12-year NBA veteran joined the Jazz last season through a trade with the Charlotte Hornets. Utah represents Nurkic’s fifth stop in the NBA, after stints with Charlotte, Phoenix, Portland, and Denver.
It isn’t exactly clear when Nurkic suffered the injury, although he played just eleven minutes in the preseason opener. Nurkic racked up four points, five rebounds, and four assists with a steal and a block during his time on the floor. Nurkic did not participate in the team’s open practice the next day and was placed on the team’s injury report on Tuesday.
The Jazz will need to rely on their depth at center for the first few weeks of the season, which includes names like Jaxson Hayes and Mo Bamba. Although these players may start the game as the traditional center, the Jazz will likely look to play a smaller lineup, giving Jaren Jackson Jr. more time at the 5. This will also mean more playing time for players like Ace Bailey and Kyle Filipowski to start the year.
Nurkic was given a return timeline of about four weeks, which means he would miss the first eight games of the NBA regular season. If all goes according to plan, Nurkic could be back for the team’s road game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on November 8th or Utah’s home game against the Miami Heat on November 10th.
Utah has one open roster spot, which can be used to add a player to fill in for Nurkic. According to Jazz insider Ben Anderson of KSLSports, Utah could wait to see who gets waived prior to the regular season, rather than rush to fill Nurkic’s spot for the final two preseason games.
