George Hill

Jazz PG Hill likely out vs. Nets (Jan 02, 2017)

Published Jan. 1, 2017 5:04 p.m. ET

NEW YORK -- The Utah Jazz experienced mixed results during two different injuries to George Hill.

Now the Jazz will discover how they perform without Hill for a third time, though they hope their point guard's absence will not be lengthy.

Hill's third absence due to injury will begin Monday night when Utah opens a five-game road trip with a visit to the Brooklyn Nets.

Hill was elbowed by Phoenix Suns center Alex Len in Saturday's 91-86 victory and received multiple stitches for a lower lip laceration before undergoing concussion testing, and the tests discovered concussion-like symptoms.

Those symptoms mean Hill will was placed in the league's mandated concussion protocol, and there is not a timetable for his return.

"It's obviously frustrating, I think for everybody," Utah forward Gordon Hayward said. "For him, for sure. But I think for us too. Hopefully he has a speedy recovery."

Including Saturday's win, the Jazz are 9-4 when Hill plays. Without Hill, who scored 21 points in his return from a sprained left toe Thursday, the Jazz leaned on their defense in the fourth and held the Suns to 15 points.

"We just got stops," Hayward said after the league's top-ranked scoring defense allowed fewer than 90 points for the 13th time. "We started to lock up on the defensive end. We struggled offensively but because we were able to guard in the fourth there, we had more opportunities and were able to convert some of them."

Hill missed eight games with a sprained right thumb and the Jazz averaged 94.6 points and were 3-5 from Nov. 7 to Nov. 20. Hill missed 13 games with his second injury and the Jazz averaged 99.8 points and won eight times.

In Hill's first two absences, Shelvin Mack and Dante Exum were Utah's starting point guards, Mack is averaging 12 points and 4.2 assists in six starts while Exum is average 7.6 points in 16 starts.

Exum missed his fifth straight game with left knee tendinitis on Saturday and in Hill's latest absence, Mack will likely get the start at point guard.

Among his options will be Hayward, who scored 18 points Saturday and Rudy Gobert, whose 18 points and 13 rebounds Saturday marked his 23rd double-double of the season.

Gobert takes a 19-game streak of double-digit rebounds into Monday's game and the Jazz are 19-9 when he grabs double-digit boards this season. Last season, Gobert reached double digits in rebounding in 38 games, including 19 in a two-point loss to the Nets on March 19.

Gobert could have another big night on the boards as the Nets' average 44 rebounds per game, which places them in the bottom third of the league. Brooklyn also gives up 48.1 rebounds per game, which places them in the bottom third.

Brooklyn is 3-19 when getting outrebounded. The latest instance occurred during a 118-95 rout at Washington Friday, when the Nets were outrebounded by a 44-32 margin.

Brooklyn lost for the 19th time in 23 games since Nov. 12. All but one of the wins are at home, where the Nets are 7-8.

In the last 23 games, the league's worst scoring defense allowed 100 points in 22 games and over 110 20 times. During this skid, 13 of Brooklyn's defeats came by double-digits, and Friday the frustration seemed to boil over on the court.

According to the New York Post, Sean Kilpatrick said the players were "bickering with each other and not playing together" during the blowout. On Saturday, coach Kenny Atkinson and Brook Lopez confirmed Kilpatrick's comments and stated the Nets held a players-only meeting after Friday's loss.

"It happens with every team throughout the year," Lopez told reporters. "We talked about it after the game as a team. None of the coaches were there. It's important we all have respect for each other, and at the same time, we have the ability to hold each other accountable and ourselves accountable. To do that, we have to be able to have a dialogue with one another."

At times, the Nets have been praised for competitiveness by opposing coaches and players. However, there have been a number of games that turned south quickly, and Atkinson is hoping the meeting starts translating to wins.

"The fact they have conflict with each other is not the worst thing in the world as long as the rhetoric stays within the realm of decency," Atkinson said. "It helps you get better out of those moments of conflict that later resolve. I think it's great."

Frustration or not, the Nets will likely be without Jeremy Lin for the third straight game and 21st time overall. Lin has missed 20 games with two instances of a strained left hamstring and one game with a back injury.

The Nets are 5-15 when he does not play, and the team has not provided an update on when Lin will return.