The Utah Jazz were without swingman Gordon Hayward on Thursday night when they hosted the Phoenix Suns, due to a bout of plantar fasciitis. It's the second straight game he sat out, after playing in each of the first 66.
As they continue to doggedly hunt a playoff spot with the regular-season finish line a month away, the last thing the Jazz need is more health concerns. They've already had to deal with extended injury layoffs to frontcourt stalwarts Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert, as well as the season-long absence of point guard Dante Exum.
A date with the woeful Suns - who the Jazz routed, 103-69 - was an ideal time to get Hayward a breather. But plantar fasciitis - a painful, lingering foot ailment with no cure beyond rest - is notoriously difficult to put a timetable on.
Hayward has been the engine making the Jazz offense go all season, leading the team with a career-high 20.1 points and 3.7 assists per game, while shooting 36 percent from 3-point range, getting to the line 6.2 times a night, and racking up the fifth-most free-throw makes in the NBA.
After Thursday's win, the Jazz sit just a game back of both the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets, who occupy the seventh and eighth seeds in the Western Conference.
