Ed Davis OUT at least 4 to 6 weeks with fractured left fibula

Ed Davis fractured his left fibula in last night’s contest where the Utah Jazz lost to the Sacramento Kings. Evidently the injury occurred in the third quarter which comes as a surprise to many as he was seen after the game walking on it just fine. Ed Davis will be out at least 4 weeks according to Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune and Ryan Miller of KSL.com.

With Ed Davis out, the Utah Jazz will have to find someone to replace his 1.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks a game off the bench. More importantly they’ll need someone who can protect the paint as well as he has backing up Rudy Gobert. Davis has a Defensive Box Plus Minus of +3.1, good for third best on the team. Who is going to be asked to take on that tall task? Third year evergreen rookie Tony Bradley. The Jazz trusted him to be their third big and now they’ll see if their trust will be rewarded.

Tony Bradley in preseason averaged 12 points and 6.2 rebounds a game in 12.8 minutes a game. That isn’t too bad. He also had a positive +/- while on the court. Is he athletic enough to hang out there with the best in the NBA? We’ll find out on Sunday when the Jazz take on the Clippers who have athletes like Kawhi Leonard, Patrick Beverley, Montrezl Harrell, JaMychal Green, and Lou Williams.

The Utah Jazz’s injury report is starting to pile up. Dante Exum started the season on the injured reserve and while he is rehabbing and practicing with the Salt Lake City Stars, he’s not yet available to return. To add insult to the injuries, Emmanuel Mudiay will be out tomorrow night against the Los Angeles Clippers with hamstring tightness. Utah will be relying heavily on Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley for the match with Nigel Williams-Goss being expected to play a much bigger role than Utah anticipated this early in the season. We could even see some Miye Oni out there for spot minutes.

Utah has a strong bench this season, but not necessarily a deep bench. They’re going to need young, unproven guys step up in the upcoming weeks for them to stick with the top of the West. Otherwise, they’re going to need to go and sign a veteran big man who’s still available. Miles Plumlee, Tyler Zeller, and Joakim Noah come to mind as players who could fill a need. But is Utah ready to part ways with Stanton Kidd in order to have the roster spot available?

Whatever happens, tomorrow night in Los Angeles could be a tough one as the Jazz try to bounce back from the last second loss in Sacramento.