TUESDAY, 11:45am: Burks has elected for surgery on his fractured left fibula, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports. The hope is that this procedure will expedite Burks’ return to the court, and the Jazz are hopeful that the guard will be able to rejoin the team after the NBA All-Star break in mid-February, the Yahoo scribe adds.
4:13pm: Burks is in line to miss about eight weeks, according to USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt (Twitter link).
SUNDAY, 2:06pm: Jazz shooting guard Alec Burks will be out at least six weeks after suffering an ankle fracture, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports (on Twitter). The Jazz, in a statement on its website, said Burks suffered a fractured left fibula. The team adds he is out indefinitely and no surgery is required.
It’s a significant loss for the Jazz because Burks, who is in his fifth year, is enjoying his best season. He is averaging a career-high 14.3 points on a career-best 38.7% 3-point shooting. At 12-16, the Jazz have been hit hard by injuries. Both Dante Exum and Rudy Gobert remain out indefinitely.
The Jazz signed Burks to a four-year extension worth $42MM plus incentives in October 2014. Two months after that, a left shoulder injury forced him out for the remainder of the 2014/15 season. After learning the news of Burks needing to miss time, Jody Genessy of the Deseret News tweeted that the Jazz must make a move in order to stay relevant in the playoff picture. Rodney Hood and Joe Ingles are expected to have increased roles in Burks’ absence, Wojnarowski writes in a full story.