Utah Jazz Roster, Injury News 2017: Joe Johnson Out for Two Weeks Due to Wrist Injury
The Utah Jazz will have to make do without veteran wing Joe Johnson for the next couple of weeks.
The team has announced that Johnson has been diagnosed with tendon instability in his right wrist and he will be reevaluated in two weeks. The injury was initially diagnosed as a wrist sprain, but a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam revealed the instability in the wrist on his shooting arm.
Well, that would explain why the 17th-year pro has been shooting so poorly (a career-low 39.1 percent) from the field this season. He has also shot a career-low 11.8 percent from behind the three-point line.
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Meanwhile, Jazz head coach Quin Snyder said has confirmed that Johnson injured his right wrist during the Jazz's 104–89 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday.
"He came out after something happened," Snyder said, via the Deseret News. "It was bothering him so they took him in and looked at him and decided to give him an MRI and all the things the medial group does to figure out what to do next," he added.
With Johnson sidelined for at least the next two weeks, Alec Burks, Thabo Sefolosha and Donovan Mitchell should all get a significant uptick in playing time. Snyder has also hinted that seldom-used forward Jonas Jerebko will see some action moving forward.
"Unfortunately, we're in a situation where Joe (Johnson) and Dante (Exum), a couple of our important players are out. It is what it is. It's more than just one guy stepping up, it's our whole team continuing to execute together and play to each other's strengths and Jonas is part of that," Snyder said on Wednesday, according to the Deseret News.
The Jazz will miss Johnson's leadership on the floor, but losing him for a couple of weeks shouldn't be a problem since he hasn't been productive anyway this season.
