SALT LAKE CITY – The NBA has a new iron man. And probably nobody cares less about it than Joe Ingles.
For the first time in 384 games of the regular season, Ingles was out of the lineup when Utah won Bucks 131-118 Friday in Milwaukee, missing out due to a wound in his right hamstring. This ended what had been the longest running streak in the league.
“He would play if he could,” said Jazz coach Quin Snyder. “There were many times when he played in pain, and probably injuries, which he didn’t talk about at times.”
This is also not hyperbole. Over the years, Ingles played with a sprain in his middle finger and a sprain in his left ankle. He even continued to play after learning that his son, Jacob, was diagnosed with autism.
Because of that, it was the first time that Donovan Mitchell played an NBA game without English being active. And yes, things were a little strange.
“It was weird. There are a lot of things that I didn’t notice that Joe realizes until he’s not there,” said Mitchell.
Of course, that included handling the ball, giving Jazz some perimeter defense and another pitcher, but it was the things outside of the game that Mitchell most noticed.
“Warming up before the game, we got a little handshake, an introduction we got a handshake, he shouting certain things in a locker room 20 minutes from the clock. There are only small things you miss,” said Mitchell.
Ingles hasn’t lost a game since December 16, 2015, a streak that has lasted more than five years and 418 games in total, if you include the playoffs. Friday’s competition in Milwaukee was just the fifth lost English game in his seven-year NBA career. He has played in every game in the past four seasons.
His streak was the longest for a Jazz player since John Stockton played 442 consecutive games in the regular season from 1997 to 2003. Sacramento Kings guard Cory Joseph is now the league’s active leader with 274 straight games on Friday market.
“Most of all, it makes you stop for a second,” said Snyder of the sequence. “And you reflect on what a sequence of consecutive games like this means and what it says about Joe – his toughness, his commitment, the type of teammate he is. … You understand why you respect him as you do . “
Ingles often downplayed the importance of the string over the years – and did it again on Friday, counting ESPN, “I don’t know what the big problem is, honestly.”
He was always proud to play the game as much as he could. When some teammates rested for the playoffs, he played. When some players needed a day off due to some pain, he trotted over there. It is your job to play basketball; he always felt it was what he needed to do.
“Because I get paid to play basketball,” said Ingles last August, when most Utah players were left out of the games before the NBA playoffs. “Again, it is my job, it is what I love to do. When I played lollipop as a child – it was the first thing that took me to the court … I loved it since then. I am not playing to get statistics or numbers or the history book. … I love to play and Quin knows that. “
So expect a new streak to start as soon as Ingles is healthy enough to come back, which Mitchell says will happen sooner or later.
“It’s definitely weird not to have him out there, but he’ll be back in the next game,” said Mitchell. “He had a very, very big streak. Supports him for doing this in his career. It’s very wild. That’s impressive, for sure.”
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Ryan Miller