Utah Jazz: Joe Ingles’ injury will have a big impact on the Jazz

Joe Ingles’ absence will be felt by the Utah Jazz. 

If the Utah Jazz is going to make a deep playoff run this season, it’s going to have to be without Joe Ingles after he suffered a season-ending ACL injury during the second quarter in their 20-point loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves over the weekend.

Even though Ingles was no longer playing at his peak, he was still productive and a valuable contributor for the Jazz. In his eighth season, Ingles has been averaging 7.2 points, 3.5 assists, and 2.9 rebounds in 24.9 minutes per game.

Ingles was runner-up last year in the NBA 6th Man of the Year award and has been very solid again for the Jazz. The Jazz has won around 60 percent of their games this season, sitting fourth in the Western Conference. They’re 30-21 with just over 30 games remaining in the season.

Losing Ingles does not just impact the Jazz on the court, but according to Rudy Gobert, he was much more important for the team.

"“It’s not even about the basketball; just having him in the locker room is good for us. He’s our guy.”"

Ingles may not be the star player for the Jazz, but he offers such an important impact off the bench. The 6-foot-8 star has a 3.5:1 assist-to-turnover ratio this season; the best on the Jazz. Utah is not just going to miss his scoring ability, but also his leadership and experience.

This injury may not be garnering big headlines, but as Mike Conely puts it, this loss certainly means a lot to nearly every player in that locker room.

"“The loss hurts a lot but Joe … that took a lot out of guys. Seeing him, tears in his eyes, knowing how much this means to him, this game means to him and what we mean to him, it’s tough. Not everything is supposed to be easy and we understand that. This will build, more character, this adversity that we’re going through. You just pray for Joe and hope that it’s as minimal as possible.”"

Ingles has shown through his career that he is a strong player, and as Rudy Gay stated postgame yesterday. “only the strong survive.” Ingles will likely make a full recovery and return next season. It remains to be seen if the Jazz will be able to survive this loss.