Utah will remain woefully thin in the backcourt as they try to stave off elimination at Houston.
Ricky Rubio and Dante Exum will both miss Game 5 on Tuesday with strained left hamstrings, the team announced on Monday. Rubio suffered his injury in Game 6 of Utah’s first-round series against Oklahoma City. Exum came up hobbling during Sunday’s Game 4 loss to the Rockets.
Tomorrow's @UofUHealth report:
Danté Exum (left hamstring strain) is out.
Ricky Rubio (left hamstring strain) is out.
Thabo Sefolosha (right knee surgery) is out.
— utahjazz (@utahjazz) May 7, 2018
Combined, Rubio and Exum are averaging 41.4 minutes, 19.1 points and 8.0 assists per contest. After Rubio went down, Exum had become an intriguing defensive wildcard for the Jazz, who have had their hands full containing Houston’s star backcourt of James Harden and Chris Paul.
Now, Utah will be forced to rely even more on standout rookie Donovan Mitchell and reserve guard Alec Burks.
