After leaving the Disney campus for the birth of his son in Ohio, Utah Jazz guard Mike Conley returned to the NBA bubble on Monday night and was able to quarantine to play in Friday night’s Game 3 against Denver, ESPN sources told.
The Jazz confirmed that Conley was back on campus Tuesday afternoon. There is an expectation that he could pass four coronavirus tests in the window ahead of the 4 pm ET Game 3 in the first-round Western Conference playoff series, sources said.
The NBA is investigating a player’s contacts and possible exposure while out of the bubble, but Conley’s departure on Sunday morning to perform with his wife in a Columbus, Ohio, hospital before the birth of her son Elijah Michael probably makes his case stronger for the shorter four-day quarantine period.
Without Conley, the Jazz Game 1 lost in overtime 135-125 despite Donovan Mitchell’s 57 points. The Jazz started Juwan Morgan in Conley’s absence. Utah lost its second leading score, Bojan Bogdanovic, to wrist surgery prior to the restart.
Conley has averaged 18 points and five assists in Orlando, Florida. He was part of a major summer deal with the Memphis Grizzlies that the Jazz hoped would help increase them in the playoffs of the Western Conference.
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