In something of a surprise to me, it appears that Paul Millsap injured his thumb in the season-ending loss to the Lakers. He ended up with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb, and will have surgery on it on Thursday.
Utah Jazz forward Paul Millsap will undergo surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb this Thursday, Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today.
Not sure about it, but considering that he was still the most dominant big-man for the Jazz in the 4th quarter of that game, I’m guessing he’ll be fine.
While on the top of ‘Sap, the “Ask the Expert” feature at the SL Trib answers the question of who should start… ‘Sap or Booze.
I agree with the final answer there… No. Obviously fans are over-reacting to the bad playoffs for Booze, where he was the main target of opposing defenses. Benching him would be stupid.
Still, when Millsap comes into the game, the defense backs off. He needs to develop a consistent mid-range jump shot to go along with his trademark hustle and energy around the basket to be a starter in the NBA.
That said… ‘Sap is a beast down low. His shot looked better this season, and he was willing (if need be) to take the mid-range jumper. He was a wonder on the boards (again), and was a huge help defensively (especially if compared to Booze). He should be at full strength again to begin next season, and will be one of the first guys off the bench for the Jazz. If he can keep developing (can you imagine him with a stronger post-game?), watch out!
Filed under: Paul Millsap
I can’t imagine anyone even asking about starting Millsap. I’m a big fan, but he’s not better than Booze.
i don’t think millsap is ready yet. i’d really like to see how AK would work out at the 4.
I don’t think AK works out at the 4… he doesn’t seem strong enough.
Maybe on a running team it’d work (New York?).
The West has too many bang-it-inside PFs that would destroy AK.
He’s a good help defender… not sure how he’d work out 1-on-1 against the big guys.
I’ve been advocating this for a while, but I think he’d have to get traded before he gets a shot at the 4.
BBJ- agree completely.
[...] the guys that have been putting it off or the guys that got injured at the end of the season (see the surgery for ‘Sap, which was successful). Second, news about which prospects the team is going to [...]