Al Jefferson will continue to play through the injury

[Purch]

Jefferson did frighten the Jazz, though, when he hurt his right hand late in the third quarter and did not return.

The Jazz initially said he had a bruised knuckle, but Jefferson later indicated the pain actually was on the padding underneath the knuckle on his right index finger.

"It feels good," Jefferson said. "It's sore. But I hurt it the first preseason game, and it's kind of like 'it's never gonna heal,' because that ball always is gonna hit right there.

"Tonight I just bent it all the way back, and it was just fast. I can play with it regardless, but it's never gonna heal. It's something I'm gonna have to just suck up and deal with."

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7...ason.html?pg=1

[nguyenbalong]

Boozer would off been out 2 weeks with that kinda injury. I do hope Al sits the next game and rest up for the season opener.

[Paper Face]

I've had that kind of bruise, and it literally takes months to heal. It will continue to swell occasionally as he plays, but it will heal eventually.

Big props to AJ for playing through it. Boozer would be on the IL. (oh wait... he's ALREADY there)

[HolyToledo]

I've had that kind of bruise, and it literally takes months to heal. It will continue to swell occasionally as he plays, but it will heal eventually.

Big props to AJ for playing through it. Boozer would be on the IL. (oh wait... he's ALREADY there)

When I played alot of Basketball i had a similiar injury as well and it is real hard to catch the ball as it hurts everytime you catch the ball. It took me approximately a year to heal it as I kept re-injuring it as I caught the ball on hard passes. Tape doesnt work well and I even developed a bone spur in the area. Boozer would miss time with this injury. Al will have to adapt to the pain associated with this injury when catching and blocking shots.

Tough for Al as it his dominant hand. This is going to be a nagging injury all year long.

[nyjazzfan]

i know its not serious but this really just sucks i want the players 100 percent shuld just pad the whole baseline more people will dive for loose balls

[outerspacefella]

From "I'll get a raise, regardless" to "I'll play thru it, regardless"... sometimes little things change the right way...

[carrottop12]

I used to get bruises like this all the time when I was skateboarding. It comes from slapping your palms on the ground really hard when you fall. It hurts, but it's more of a tenderness feel than a break. He should definitely be able to play through it with little set back.

By the way the trib is reporting that he did get it x-rayed and the x-rays were negative so that's good.

[Luigi]

Great to hear about the x-ray results. I thought they were BSing it.

I'm a little worried about dirty players exploiting it. I also don't want to see him dunk anymore (that rim can rock your bruise). Hopefully it doesn't affect his release, his catching in the post, or his shot blocking confidence.