Donovan Mitchell is capable of scoring 50 points in the playoffs. We’ve seen it before.
But on Wednesday night, in Game 2 against the Memphis Grizzlies in Salt Lake City, his first game back after spraining his right ankle April 16, the Utah Jazz All-Star guard was reserved and deliberate, and it was exactly what the Jazz needed from him.
“Anytime you’ve been out for a significant period of time I think there’s a tendency to try to really put a stamp on the game, and I thought he really let the game come to him,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “He was patient, he got a few catch-and-shoot 3s early where he got good looks, got off the ball and kind of made a simple play, and then I think, as the game went on you saw him attacking the basket more. But he really played within himself.”
It would have been understandable if Mitchell, frustrated that he didn’t play in Game 1, came out of the gate guns blazing, looking to beat every man in front of him. But the Jazz are at their best when they are playing team basketball and not relying on one player to win in isolation.
To that end, and with Mitchell a little tentative, not wanting to push off too hard from his right ankle, and feeling some early-game nerves, Mitchell started the game off the ball more often than not and when he got his first touch of the game it came on a pass from Mike Conley and Mitchell hit a wide open 3 from the left side of the arc.
He would go on to score 25 points in just under 26 minutes — a restriction made by the Jazz medical and training staff — including shooting 5 of 10 from 3-point range.
The five weeks Mitchell spent sidelined marked the longest absence from the game in his professional career. He called navigating his return “uncharted territory” and knew that it would be as much of a mental battle as it would be physical. Mitchell was aware of what could happen if he came in too aggressive and admittedly had to try to relax himself before tipoff.
“That was really my mindset, not coming out to try and do too much because you’re running high off adrenaline,” he said. “It’s easy to go out there and try and hit a home run to start the game, but the game’s not won in the first five minutes ... it’s a marathon not a sprint.”
His reserved and unselfish approach made his transition back into the Jazz rotation seamless.
“I didn’t feel like he was out, he had the kind of game that wasn’t the first game back after a month,” Rudy Gobert said of his teammate. “It just shows that he’s been working, putting in the work in, and he’s been ready for that moment.”
Though Mitchell was pleased, for the most part, with his performance in the Jazz’s 141-129, series-tying Game 2 win over the Grizzlies, he was disappointed that he left the game without dishing out a single assist.
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As a competitor and an unselfish teammate it makes sense for Mitchell to want to contribute in every way possible, but just by simply being on the court, Mitchell is a boon for the Jazz.
“He’s a tremendous weapon for our team,” Conley said of Mitchell. “Similar to how Rudy is when he rolls and just draws so much attention from the defense, he’s the same way. With the ball or him without the ball, just how much people gravitate toward him and then lanes open up for other players on our team.”
The Jazz’s spacing and ability to swing the ball to open shooters improves just by having Mitchell on the court. Additionally, the trickle-down effect of having Mitchell back in the rotation, gives Conley more options and allows some relief for Joe Ingles.
“You take a player like that off any team, it’s going to impact you,” Snyder said. “There’s a competitive spirit that he has, and you can feel it when he plays and I think that’s something that our guys also feed off of.”
It’s no secret that the Jazz are a better team with Mitchell on the floor, but that doesn’t mean that he has to score 50 in order for them to win. Sometimes, with Wednesday’s game serving as the perfect example, it’s smarter for him to play with a slower and more deliberate approach.
Utah Jazz: Donovan Mitchell returns from injury with relaxed approach - Deseret News
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