Jazz Conley Will Quarantine For Four Days In Orlando Bubble
Aug 18, 2020, 9:29 PM | Updated: 9:29 pm
Utah Jazz guard Mike Conley (10) watches his shot fall through the net during the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers basketball game at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on Monday, Jan. 20, 2020. (Courtesy of Deseret News)
(Courtesy of Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Mike Conley will be in quarantine for four days before returning to the NBA floor. The Utah Jazz guard left the Orlando bubble Sunday to be with his wife, Mary Peluso, for the birth of their son. The NBA confirmed to KSL Sports that Conley will be eligible to leave quarantine Friday.
The Jazz lost to the Denver Nuggets in game one of their opening-round playoff series on Monday without Conley. Game two is scheduled for Wednesday, while game three will be played on Friday. Conley will be unavailable for the Jazz in game two but could be cleared for game three depending on if he can return a negative test for coronavirus before game time.
The Jazz must also feel comfortable bringing Conley back onto the floor after the absence. The guard last played on August 10, in the Jazz 122-114 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Conley sat out the team’s final seeding game against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Jazz and Nuggets will tip-off at on Friday at 2 pm MT.
Conley Can Help Jazz When He Leaves Quarantine
The Jazz were already shorthanded before Conley left the bubble on Sunday. Forward Bojan Bogdanovic is not with the team after having season-ending wrist surgery in May. Conley had seen a significant uptick in play in Bogdanovic’s absence.
Conley has averaged 18 points, five assists, and three rebounds in the NBA bubble, giving the Jazz a much-needed boost from their prized offseason acquisition. The veteran was particularly good against the Nuggets this season, averaging 20.5 points and seven rebounds, both season-highs against any team this year.
Without Conley, Donovan Michell, Jordan Clarkson, and Joe Ingles were forced to play over 39 minutes in Jazz game one loss to the Nuggets. Having Conley available would allow the Jazz to preserve the backcourt rotation throughout the series.
