Deseret Morning News <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">He won't play in either of the Jazz's games this week, visits to Toronto on Wednesday night and Indiana on Thursday night that mark their first two outings of the 2005-06 NBA exhibition season. He may not, in fact, play for the first time until Utah's seventh and final game of the preseason, Oct. 28 vs. Denver at the Delta Center. But Matt Harpring, who is of no mind to rush back prematurely from offseason knee surgery, hardly seems bothered. The veteran forward who played a leadership role during a trying 2004-05 season, and who anticipates doing just that again this season, knew all along that the road to recovery would be no short block. "I'm sticking to the game plan," he said Monday, the first day in the second week of training camp for the Jazz. "I've been doing good. So far, really no big setbacks. It's just (a matter of) getting it back ready to play again." So there has been no scrimmaging. No hard practices. Shoot, as Harpring himself says, "The last time I ran up and down the court was our last game of the year, back at Golden State ? April 20." Just a few days after that date ? and who could not remember the merciful end to a 26-56 season? ? Harpring underwent microfracture surgery on the same right knee that had undergone the same sort of surgery back in January 2004. The damage found and repaired this time was similar, albeit in a different spot, as the first.</div> <div align="center">Source</div>
Harp will collect his 4 1/2 million this year and fade off into the sunset. He'll robably spend as much time on the bench with his knees as Lopez did. If he provides any kind of meaningful contribution to the Jazz' game this year, it'll surprise the hell outta me. Tank
