Jazz must make do without Conley for first game with Denver Nuggets on Monday
Sunday 16 August 2020 20:29, UK
Utah Jazz point guard Mike Conley left the NBA bubble Sunday to go back to Ohio for the birth of his son, the team announced.
Conley, who sat out Thursday's final seeding game near Orlando due to right knee soreness, will not be available when sixth-seeded Utah opens its first-round Western Conference playoff series Monday against the third-seeded Denver Nuggets.
Conley had made his intentions clear in an Instagram post last month celebrating his sixth wedding anniversary with his wife, Mary Peluso.
"Can't wait for baby #3 in August! This bubble won't keep me from that," he posted.
Conley, 32, averaged 14.4 points, 4.4 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 47 games (41 starts) in his first season with Utah in 2019-20.
He was traded by Memphis to the Jazz in July 2019 after spending his first 12 NBA seasons with the Grizzlies.
Drafted No. 4 overall in 2007 out of Ohio State, Conley has career averages of 14.9 points, 5.6 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 835 games (799 starts).
With Conley out for at least the first few games of the play-offs, the Nuggets will likely call on Donovan Mitchell and Joe Ingles to handle the ball more. Emmanuel Mudiay will come off the bench as the backup point guard.
