Utah Jazz notebook: Millsap puts chance of playing tonight at 90%

Before practice Tuesday morning, power forward Paul Millsap put his chance of returning to the Jazz lineup for tonight's road-trip-opening game in Oklahoma City at "90 percent."

Still could be. Then again, it might've been some wishful thinking on his part.

Though Millsap officially remains a game-time decision against the Thunder, he "didn't practice much" Tuesday, according to a team spokesman. While he said he'd improved, Millsap also admitted to having limited jumping abilities from his latest knee injury.

Millsap sat out Monday's win over Indiana — only the fourth absence in his three-year career — with a bruised right knee that he said had about 10CCs of fluid drained out of it to reduce swelling earlier that day.

That procedure helped alleviate some pain.

"It's feeling a little better than it was yesterday," Millsap said before practice. "But it's still a little sore."

Millsap was optimistic that he had enough time before tonight's tipoff to be deemed healthy enough to go.

"I hate missing games," he said. "It's the worst thing I can ever do right now."

Interestingly, Millsap was surprised that this knee injury — which occurred Saturday when Kyle Korver collided with him after making a basket — has caused more pain than when he sprained a ligament (the PCL) in his left knee in December.

That forced Millsap to miss three games and to snap his career-long 194-game playing streak.

"It actually hurt a little bit more than my left one did," he said. "Something little minor like that hurt worse than something real major."

Millsap jokingly hinted that reporters might have jinxed him by talking about the Jazz's many injuries and hyping up his former Ironman playing streak.

"Things like that happen," he said, "but, you know, only the strongest can get through it."

Of course, the strongest also know when to not push it too far.

"It's good to know your limits, especially for me. I get out there and do some wild things," he said. "I need to know what I can do and what I can't do."

HOPEFUL HOOPSTER: C.J. Miles gets to participate in a small family reunion tonight. He hopes to participate in a game, too.

The small forward, who'd started every game this season before missing the past two with a sprained right ankle, hopes his loved ones will have a chance to watch him play.

"My family will drive up (from Texas). My sister goes to school down there," he said. "It'll be fun."

But like Millsap, Miles will be a game-time decision after he increased his rehab activity with the team at practice Tuesday, according to a spokesman.

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