This is rough. Utah Jazz big man Jaren Jackson Jr. will be out for at least weeks with a torn MCL in his right knee, the team announced Tuesday. The good news is that this does not require surgery. Jackson Jr. will be reevaluated in six weeks, the team said, but expect him to miss closer to eight weeks, which has him returning around or after Christmas.
Jackson suffered the injury early in the second Monday's against Memphis. Grizzlies guard Ty Jerome drove hard to the net, was fouled by Svi Mykhailiuk, and unfortunately fell into Jackson Jr.'s knee.
Losing a former Defensive Player of the Year for a team that already has issues on that end — it's very early, but Utah has a bottom-10 defense so far — is concerning. He also was contributing 16.3 points and five rebounds a game.
Utah planned to build a big front line with Jusuf Nurkic and Jaren Jackson Jr., but Nurkic is out at least another week with a partial plantar plate tear in the second toe of his right foot. Without that back line, Utah has the league's 23rd-ranked defense. If you're squinting to find a silver lining, it could mean more offensive opportunities for No. 2 pick Darryn Peterson as well as Ace Bailey, helping their development.
Utah came into this season believing they had a playoff team, or at least one headed to the play-in. There was a real confidence around them. It's very early in the season, but this makes that path to the postseason more difficult.
