Jazz Update Conley & Markkanen's Status for Timberwolves Matchup
Utah Jazz point guard Mike Conley has been cleared to play against the Minnesota Timberwolves after missing nine games due a knee injury he suffered on November 19. The timing couldn’t be better as he'll be facing his old teammate Rudy Gobert in the much-anticipated homecoming.
"I've been working, and we're still working through some things, but the only way to get through it is to kind of work your way back in it and test the water," Conley told reporters during Friday morning's shootaround.
This is good to hear for Jazz fans, but while Utah is getting its floor general back, they'll also be down the player that replaced Conley in his absence.
Backup point guard Collin Sexton will be out at least a week with a mild hamstring strain. Sexton suffered the injury in Wednesday night's win over the Golden State Warriors and Utah will play it cautious with the fifth-year pro.
Jazz leading scorer Lauri Markkanen (illness) is listed as questionable for Friday night's tilt, although he was at the morning shoot-around as well.
The Timberwolves will also be a little short-handed. All-Star center Karl Anthony-Towns will still be out with a calf strain and power forward Taurean Prince will miss the contest with a shoulder injury.
The return of Gobert will be taking center stage, but this is a big game in regards to the standings. The Timberwolves are on the outside looking in for a playoff berth, but only trail the Jazz by 1.5 games for the sixth seed.
Tip-off is at 7:00 pm MDT.
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