The Utah Jazz don't have an All-Star this year, but coming into this season it seemed as though they had a couple of players with a good chance to make the team. Forward Derrick Favors seemed to be on track for a spot on the Western Conference All-Star roster this year until he hurt his back. Favors is back playing now, but the injury cost him and the team precious time, and to make matters worse it seems as though the injury might have been caused by his mattress, according to Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Favors missed his first game due to the back injury on Dec. 26 and missed almost a full month and 16 games due to the pain. Favors returned on Jan. 25 against the Pistons, a game in which the Jazz lost, and he said he felt good on the floor but just needed to knock some rust off. When asked how he would prevent the injury from reoccurring, he went straight to his sleeping habits.
"Try not to sleep on my stomach basically; I think that's what caused it. I try everything, man, just try to stay on my back. If I feel like I'm turning over, I try to wake up. Just stay on my back. I'm in the process of changing my mattress now. It wasn't soft, but it was kind of outdated. I had it for a couple of years," said Favors.
If the mattress was really the cause of Favors' back issues, it not only cost him a possible spot in the All-Star game, which happened to be one of his goals this season, but it hurt the team as well. Utah went 7-9 in the games Favors missed, and they're a half game behind the Portland Trail Blazers for the eighth spot in the West.
The good news for the Jazz is they still have a very realistic shot at a playoff spot, and Favors seems to have knocked most of the rust off since coming back. Gordon Hayward has been great leading Utah lately, but Favors is a game-changer, and having him in the lineup will only increase the team's chances of making the playoffs. On the season Favors is averaging 16.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 30 games.
