Hart told he has bulging disc

WASHINGTON — The cause of Jason Hart's lower-back inflammation is a bulging disc, the Jazz's backup point guard revealed Friday.

Hart called the injury "tough" but suggested — before walking off with a large ice bag attached to his back — that he has no reason to suspect surgery will be needed.

"I have a little strain, a bulging disc — nothing serious, for surgery, anyway," said Hart, who has missed four games due to the back, including the Jazz's Friday visit with Washington.

Hart said he's never before dealt with such an injury, which is akin to ones sustained previously by Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko and center Mehmet Okur.

Bulging disc is a term some use to describe when one of the shock-absorbing discs between vertebrae protrudes in a nonruptured fashion into the spinal canal, sometimes pressing against one of the nerves forming the sciatic nerve.

It's also what Okur cited when he opted not to play for his national team at the 2006 FIBA World Championships in Japan, a controversial decision in his native Turkey.

But Jazz trainer Gary Briggs on Friday downplayed the nature of the injury, suggesting it is quite common to both athletes and nonathletes.

Hart, who also does not expect to play when Utah closes a back-to-back road set tonight at Memphis, was hurt trying to block a shot by Sacramento guard Beno Udrih during a Jan. 25 win over the Kings.

"I came down kind of awkward and kind of strained it and just triggered something," he said. "It's gonna go away, with ice and treatment."

Hart's also taking anti-inflammatory medication, Briggs said.

Hart did not accompany the Jazz on their last trip, a one-gamer to Houston last weekend. But he decided to travel with the team on this one, even though he knew he wouldn't be able to play.

"You feel isolated from the team, because you're not with them," he said, speaking with reporters about the injury for the first time since he's been sidelined. "(So) I wanted to get on the road trip and come and get of this good spirit, some of this winning attitude."

After beating the Wizards 96-87 Friday night, the Jazz have won seven straight.

Friday's morning shootaround marked the first time Hart has even tried to pass the ball since he was hurt. He isn't sure when he'll return but doesn't expect the absence to be long-term.

"It shouldn't be awhile ... (but) I'm just taking it slow," he said.

With Hart out, Utah Valley State product and usual No. 3 point Ronnie Price has been backing up starter Deron Williams.

"Somebody getting hurt is somebody else's opportunity," Hart said with reference to the sporadically used Price, who has scored 18 points in 37 minutes and shot 8-of-15 from the field in the four games that Hart has missed. "He's doing a great job, and we're winning, so I'm just happy."

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