Utah Jazz a bit dinged up for their preseason slate

The Utah Jazz squad is entering the preseason without a couple of forwards.

At 6:30 p.m. MT Monday, the Utah Jazz will begin their preseason slate on the road against the San Antonio Spurs. And according to a tweet over the weekend from the franchise, at least two Jazz players will be sitting this one out.

It’s no surprise that those dinged-up guys are NBA veterans: 35-year-old Rudy Gay and 32-year-old Bojan Bogdanovic. Both forwards look to be a part of the primary rotation this season. But at the moment, Utah appears to be opting for the safe route by sitting them both.

Possible timetables for the two crucial Utah Jazz weapons to return

Rudy Gay, arguably the highlight free-agent acquisition of the Jazz’s offseason, continues to recover from the left heel surgery he underwent in May. The plan is to sit the 6-foot-8, 250-pounder throughout the preseason — and perhaps even a few games into the regular season.

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Meanwhile, Bojan Bogdanovic is coping with soreness in his right shoulder. If this was the regular season, chances are the third-year Jazzman would be raring to go and in the starting lineup once again; after all, the 6-foot-7, 225-pound Croatian sensation has started every game he’s ever played for Utah.

That said, per a quote from eighth-year head coach Quin Snyder during training camp last week, there is no telling at this point when exactly Bogdanovic or Gay will be on the floor for the Jazz:

“We’ve got a couple of guys right now in Bojan and Rudy Gay that haven’t had a chance to do contact yet. You don’t know when they’re going to be cleared, so that certainly has an impact.”

Following the four scheduled preseason outings, the Utah Jazz will get their regular season underway on Oct. 20 when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder in Salt Lake City. Of course, it remains to be seen if they’ll do so with a fully healthy roster.