Donovan Mitchell

Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell is dealing with injuries to both of his legs heading into Game 6 of the Western Conference playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks. 

Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, an MRI of Mitchell's left leg came back negative, but both of his quads are bruised. 

Wojnarowski added there "remains optimism" that Mitchell will be able to play in Game 6 on Thursday. He limped off the court in the fourth quarter of Utah's 102-77 loss on Monday night. 

Mitchell missed time earlier this season with a back injury and entered concussion protocol in January. He missed eight games with a concussion and didn't return until a Feb. 4 matchup against the Brooklyn Nets.

The 25-year-old has been mostly healthy over his career. However, he appeared in just 53 games during the 2020-21 season with several ailments.

Mitchell has been a consistent playmaker and scorer over his five-year career in Utah. This season, he averaged 25.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists while shooting 44.8 percent from the floor and 35.5 percent from deep in 67 games.

With Mitchell's help, the Jazz went 49-33, good for fifth place in the Western Conference. They will need to win the next two games against the Mavs to keep their season alive. 

Game 6 will be played at Vivint Arena on Thursday at 10 p.m. ET. 

Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell reportedly expressed regret for derogatory comments he made about the team after the Jazz blew a huge lead in a loss last month.

According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Mitchell addressed his teammates and "made it clear with his genuine, emotional delivery that he had seen the kind of growth with this current group that made his sentiment off-base."

After the Jazz blew a 25-point lead and lost to the Los Angeles Clippers 121-115 on March 29, Mitchell said the following, per Tony Jones of The Athletic: "I don't know what to say … this is the same s--t ... this is literally the same thing as last year."

Utah had a golden opportunity to reach the Western Conference Finals last season against a Clippers team that saw Kawhi Leonard get knocked out for the final two games of the series. However, L.A. won both games and advanced, including a 25-point comeback in Game 7.

If Mitchell let frustration take over while addressing the media after the latest loss to the Clippers, it is somewhat understandable why.

As pointed out by Ben Anderson of KSL Sports, the Jazz made a habit of blowing big leads throughout the 2021-22 season:

Jazz blown double-digit leads resulting in losses this season is up to 15.

@ Magic
vs. Grizzlies
vs. Pelicans
vs. Wizards
vs. Spurs
@ Raptors
@ Pistons
@ Lakers
vs. Rockets
@ Lakers
@ Spurs
vs. Bucks
@ Mavericks
@ Clippers
@ Warriors

— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) April 3, 2022

The Jazz have performed well below expectations when the games matter most in recent years. Although Utah is in the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year, postseason success has proved elusive.

Over the past five seasons, the Jazz have never made it past the second round of the playoffs, and that included a pair of first-round exits in 2019 and 2020.

The Jazz are a veteran-laden team, and they need to make their move sooner than later if they are ever going to win a championship with the current core.

Mitchell is still in his prime at 25 years of age, but most of the other key players on the roster are 29 or older, including Rudy Gobert, Bojan Bogdanovic, Jordan Clarkson, Mike Conley, Rudy Gay and Hassan Whiteside.

There is undoubtedly a sense of urgency to win now and win big in Utah, although doing so won't be easy.

The Jazz enjoyed a solid season with a 49-33 record to earn the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference, but overcoming some of the teams ahead of them such as the Phoenix Suns, Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks won't be easy.

Utah clearly has the talent to go on a deep run, though, especially if everyone is on the same page following Mitchell's team address.

Quin Snyder wanted to set the record straight. 

After a few tweets went viral this past week pointing out that Donovan Mitchell doesn't pass the ball often to Rudy Gobert, the Utah Jazz head coach attempted to contextualize the numbers for reporters on Tuesday. 

Here’s a fun stat:

Donovan averages 2 passes a game to Rudy Gobert.

Not assists. Passes…

— Dustin Taylor ⌚️ (@DustinT_NBA) April 3, 2022

Donovan Mitchell averages 2 passes a game to Rudy Gobert.

Not assists. Passes 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Hgq7gwrAe7

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 3, 2022

"Trae Young and [Clint] Capela, that's the comp that we're using, right? You know, out of 3,442 possessions, he's passed to Capela 472 times. OK. Donovan, out of 1600, he's passed to Rudy 150 times. So those are roughly the same number, right?"

Not exactly.

As Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune noted, Young passes to Capela on 13.7 percent of the Atlanta Hawks' possessions, while Mitchell passes to Gobert on 9.4 percent of Utah's possessions. 

But Snyder also noted the comparison wasn't "apples to apples." Young operates as the primary ball-handler in Atlanta, directing the pick-and-roll with the rim-running Capela, while Snyder noted that Mike Conley is the primary facilitator for Utah and Mitchell is more of a secondary playmaker.

He added that the Jazz's emphasis on shooting threes often limits Gobert's touches. 

"Let's just not try to drive a wedge between some of these players and especially using numbers. We should be more responsible than that," Snyder said. "... We're not playing great all the time. We want to play better. But you don't get there by trying to say that one player's not passing to another."

It was all part of a larger 19-minute oration to reporters before Tuesday's matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies, with Utah's recent struggles perhaps bubbling to the surface for Snyder. The Jazz have lost six of their past seven games, dropping to 46-32 and sixth in the Western Conference.

The Mitchell-Gobert partnership has come under the microscope in the past, namely in 2020, when Mitchell was reportedly unhappy with Gobert's cavalier attitude toward the COVID-19 pandemic. 

It appeared as though any rift between the pair had long since healed. Snyder is certainly looking to squash any basis for it to return. 

New York Knicks executive vice president William Wesley is gearing up to make a trade offer for Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell, according to Newsday's Steve Popper.

Popper wrote:

According to the same person who pointed to Wesley's criticism of Thibodeau, Wesley has been selling his plan, one that eventually will land Utah's Donovan Mitchell, a New York native. But this is not schmoozing a high school player and steering him to a college of choice, and it's not so simple even if the relationships are in place. Rose served as a former agent for Mitchell and the front office also inserted Johnnie Bryant as associate head coach after Bryant served as an assistant in Utah.

The news comes after an Eastern Conference scout told Ric Bucher of Fox Sports in January that the Jazz are "a first-round exit from Donovan being in New York."

Mitchell has been a staple in Utah's lineup since the 2017-18 campaign. However, the Jazz haven't made many roster moves over the last few years and will need to do so if they hope to win an NBA title, even if that means parting ways with Mitchell.

And while some believe Mitchell would be open to returning to New York, where he grew up, the three-time All-Star told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports earlier this month that he has no intention of leaving the Jazz in the future.

I think I've reached a point where you're happy with yourself, first off. ... But as far as myself with the franchise, I see the articles, but I really address it with my teammates. I've seen it. I'm not too stressed about it. I'm not thinking about it. Because for me, it's about how we can win.

There's going to be talk whether I say something, whether I don't say something because that's how I've always been. I've always been someone that's like, 'OK, they're saying stuff. Let's go ahead and lock in.' I haven't really thought too much about it. I'm happy right now and just continuing to find ways to win.

Mitchell has been a consistent scorer over his five-year career and is averaging 25.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists while shooting 45.9 percent from the floor and 35.7 percent from deep in 47 games this season.

While Mitchell remains loyal to the Jazz, anything could happen during the offseason, especially if the Knicks end up with a high first-round draft pick, which could be intriguing to Utah.

However, it's unclear what the Knicks would have to give up in order to acquire Mitchell. In addition, it's unclear how much he alone would be able to help the franchise, which is in the midst of a highly disappointing season, next year. More acquisitions would likely have to be made.

Mitchell is in the first year of a five-year, $163 million contract. The Knicks probably wouldn't have an issue taking on his contract, especially given Wesley's interest. 

Plans are reportedly in place around the NBA for teams to chase the next star who is unhappy with his situation.

Howard Beck of Sports Illustrated (h/t HoopsHype) reported: "Team executives are already bracing (and/or plotting) for the next disenchanted star to ask out, with speculation focused on Zion Williamson in New Orleans, Damian Lillard in Portland and Donovan Mitchell in Utah."

Mitchell's inclusion is notable after the Utah Jazz star addressed speculation he would leave the only NBA team he has played for during a conversation with Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

"There's going to be talk whether I say something, whether I don't say something because that's how I've always been," he said. "I've always been someone that's like, 'OK, they're saying stuff. Let's go ahead and lock in.' I haven't really thought too much about it. I'm happy right now and just continuing to find ways to win."

Mitchell's Jazz have enjoyed plenty of on-court success in the regular season, but he is yet to make it out of the second round. Last season, Utah posted the best record in the league at 52-20 before it lost in the second round to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Speculation that Lillard will ask out of Portland has been a consistent theme of late, and it won't go anywhere after the team traded CJ McCollum to the New Orleans Pelicans.

Lillard, who has been the face of the franchise since 2012-13 but has never advanced past the Western Conference Finals, developed into one of the league's brightest stars as he and McCollum shared a backcourt.

NBA insider Marc Stein reported earlier this month that teams around the league hope Lillard will "eventually ask to be traded" so he can pursue a championship elsewhere.

As for Williamson, he is yet to play this season because of injury and suited up for just 24 games during his rookie campaign in 2019-20. Durability is a major concern even if he is someone who can take over a game when he is healthy and playing at his best.

Christian Clark of NOLA.com reported in September: "Throughout his rookie season, Williamson had grown increasingly frustrated with the Pelicans for the number of hoops they required him to jump through to return from the knee injury he suffered in the preseason."

Perhaps he will ask out before signing a long-term deal with the franchise that selected him with the No. 1 overall pick out of Duke.

If he does, multiple teams will apparently be waiting to make a trade offer.                 

Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell has announced he will not participate in Sunday's All-Star Game because of an upper respiratory illness not related to COVID-19:

Statement from Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell: pic.twitter.com/jC6Rtwn5dZ

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) February 20, 2022

Mitchell was set to play for Team LeBron in Cleveland.

The guard missed time earlier this season with a back injury and was placed in concussion protocol in January.

The 25-year-old is Utah's go-to option on the offensive end. He has averaged better than 20 points per game in every season of his career and helped lead the Jazz to the best record in the NBA last season.

Mitchell averaged 26.4 points, 5.2 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game in 2020-21 and has followed with 25.7 points, 5.2 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals a night this season.

The Louisville product can create and facilitate with the ball in his hands or play off the ball as someone who can hit from the outside and attack the rim. It is difficult to envision the Jazz can challenge the best teams in the Western Conference if he is not on the floor come playoff time.

If Mitchell is sidelined for the Jazz after the All-Star break, look for the team to turn to the combination of Jordan Clarkson and Jared Butler for more playing time.     

Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell said there's no lingering tension with teammate Rudy Gobert that would impact the team's NBA championship chase.

Mitchell explained to Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes in an interview for Tuesday's edition of the Posted Up podcast that players can chase on-court success without being best friends away from the arena:

First of all, we're good. I just want to go on record with saying that. I think it's interesting that stuff happens, and he and I have never played at this high of a level together since we've been here. So I make the joke, 'For a group that hates each other, man, we're playing pretty well.'

And we can be even better. We're good. We're focused on winning. We have a common goal. I think that's the biggest thing. You don't always have to be the best of friends with people you work with. But at the end of the day, if you work towards a common goal that's beneficial to the team, that's what's first. We want to win, and I don't think either of us are worried about what's being said around us.

There are longstanding questions about the Mitchell-Gobert dynamic, and those continued to multiply in early February when ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported on The Hoop Collective podcast (via RealGM) the duo had been "at each other's throats," which he described as the "most underplayed story in the league."

Yet the Jazz have continued to play at a high level despite whatever problems exist. They own a 36-21 record, which is the sixth-best mark in the NBA.

The situation also hasn't appeared to affect either player individually as Gobert ranks sixth in FiveThirtyEight's WAR metric and Mitchell is 23rd. Add in point guard Mike Conley (11th), and Utah features perhaps the league's best core group statistically.

Whether those promising numbers translate to postseason success will depend heavily on whether Mitchell and Gobert can coexist when it matters most.

Mitchell was also asked by Haynes about Gobert's comments in mid-February about his belief the team lacked winning habits defensively, which was perceived as a shot toward Mitchell and others:

People have their own way of expressing things. I think the bigger way would have been just to do it in house, but it's water under the bridge for me now, and for us as a group. ... When you have two people that are competitive, you want to ultimately be the best. I would take that as opposed to two dudes who just want to sit on their ass and do nothing. You have two guys who are going to go out there and compete. He's a three-time Defensive Player of the Year. I'm a three-time All-Star. We're going to find ways to get better individually and collectively as a group, and I'll take that.

As a whole, Mitchell's remarks stopped short of saying everything is perfect between himself and Gobert, but he clearly doesn't believe that's enough to stop the team from living up to its potential.

It'll be interesting to see, however, when the going gets tough in the playoffs whether their different outlooks on the game—defense-first Gobert and offense-first Mitchell—comes to a head. It's likely the stories about this relationship are far from over.

For now, the Jazz will focus on the short term and attempt to extend their six-game winning streak Wednesday when they visit the Los Angeles Lakers before heading into the All-Star break.

The Utah Jazz have won four straight games after crushing the visiting Golden State Warriors 111-85 on Wednesday at Salt Lake City's Vivint Arena.

Jazz wing Bojan Bogdanovic led all scorers with 23 points. Donovan Mitchell finished two assists shy of a triple-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds and eight dimes.

Hassan Whiteside led a tremendous defensive effort with seven blocks in addition to his nine points and 17 rebounds.

Utah outscored Golden State 56-36 in the second half and held the Dubs to 35.9 percent shooting. The Jazz also outscored Golden State 48-20 in the paint.

Golden State played without shooting guard Klay Thompson (rest). The five-time All-Star played a season-high 29 minutes on Monday as he continues his comeback after missing two years with ACL and Achilles injuries.

The Warriors also were without Draymond Green, who has missed 16 straight games with a lower back injury.

This marked Utah's first game since ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on a three-team deal involving the Jazz, San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.

Utah will reportedly receive Nickeil Alexander-Walker from the Blazers and San Antonio Spurs forward Juancho Hernagomez in exchange for Joe Ingles and Elijah Hughes, who are headed to Portland. Utah is also sending a 2022 second-round pick to Portland and a 2027 second-rounder to the Spurs.

Neither of Utah's additions suited up Wednesday. The Jazz also played without Rudy Gobert (left calf strain) for the eighth straight game.

The 34-21 Jazz have bounced back strong in response to a five-game losing streak and currently hold down the No. 4 spot in the Western Conference.

The 41-14 Warriors' nine-game win streak broke with the loss.

    

Notable Performances

Warriors G Jordan Poole: 18 points

Warriors G Stephen Curry: 16 points, 7 rebounds

Warriors F Andrew Wiggins: 13 points

Jazz F Bogdan Bogdanovic: 23 points, 6 rebounds

Jazz G Donovan Mitchell: 14 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists

Jazz C Hassan Whiteside: 9 points, 17 rebounds, 7 blocks

     

Led By Whiteside, Jazz Defense Overwhelms Warriors

The Jazz allowed 13 points in the first three minutes of this game. They proceeded to hold the Warriors to 72 points over the last 45 minutes as the Jazz dominated on the defensive end.

Whiteside set the tone when he entered the game in the first quarter. Soon afterward, he stole the ball from Stephen Curry, and Trent Forrest picked it up for a bucket the other way.

the steal ✅
the hustle ✅
the bucket ✅#TakeNote | @TForrest_11 pic.twitter.com/tsy7KxCgGf

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) February 10, 2022

Whiteside ultimately amassed five blocks before the second quarter was three minutes old.

Hassan with 5️⃣ blocks already tonight #TakeNote | @youngwhiteside pic.twitter.com/dDGkkWZVyF

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) February 10, 2022

He was a catalyst for the team's turnaround after the Jazz found themselves in an early hole.

Warriors exploited Hassan Whiteside for a few wide open 3s in the first half, but Jazz generally beat up the Warriors (+11) with him on the floor. Whiteside had six blocks in 14 minutes. Warriors opened game on a 13-0 run, down six at half.

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) February 10, 2022

The big man didn't make a huge offensive impact, but he made the most of his opportunities by shooting 4-of-5 for his nine points:

what a night for the big man#TakeNote | @youngwhiteside pic.twitter.com/BLpzMJvMon

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) February 10, 2022

He even flirted with a triple-double and was asked about that postgame:

Hassan Whiteside, when asked if he thought he might get a triple-double: “Yeah, I thought I might. But the blocks get tough. They were attacking me a lot more early in the game. (As it went on), they started doing crazy stuff.”

— tribjazz (@tribjazz) February 10, 2022

The Jazz ended up outscoring the Warriors by 35 points with Whiteside on the court. Simply put, he was this game's MVP as Utah cruised to victory.

     

Blip on the Radar for Warriors; Kuminga Excels

Games like Wednesday's ugly loss have been very few and far between this year. It's only the 10th time in which Golden State scored fewer than 100 points and the third occasion where the Dubs had under 90.

Given that the team was (a) shorthanded, (b) playing on the road, (c) facing a very good team on a winning streak and (d) have been in great form prior to Wednesday, there isn't much to be overly concerned about. It's just one bad game amid what's been an excellent three-week stretch.

If there's one positive to take away, it's the continued good play from rookie Jonathan Kuminga, who entered Wednesday averaging 17.7 points in 26.0 minutes over his last three games.

He continued to showcase his tremendous potential and added 12 more points off the bench, including a pair of threes:

JK showin' off the range 📍

📺 @NBCSAuthentic pic.twitter.com/Cht7f8jI9A

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) February 10, 2022

Kuminga's tremendous athleticism was on display again as he seemingly floated en route this dunk:

another night
another flight

📺 @NBCSAuthentic pic.twitter.com/O6q4G0idt3

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) February 10, 2022

It's hard to take away anything good from twenty-six point losses, but it's easy to see why Kuminga might end up being a central piece to this team's future over the next decade-plus. For now, he's an excellent bench contributor for a championship-contending team and a potential postseason X-factor.

       

What's Next?

Both teams will play at home next.

Golden State will welcome the New York Knicks into San Francisco's Chase Center on Thursday at 10 p.m. ET.

Utah will host the Orlando Magic on Friday at 9 p.m.

The relationship between Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell is reportedly once again reaching a crossroads.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst and Tim MacMahon discussed the ongoing tensions between the two Utah Jazz stars on the latest Hoop Collective podcast (via RealGM): 

"Gobert and Mitchell have been at each other's...I don't know if I can say at each other's throats," Windhorst said.

MacMahon replied: "It's back to being passively aggressively awkward."

"It's the most underplayed story in the league, I think," Windhorst said. "The Jazz are struggling a lot. This team had big expectations and they're getting passed by frankly. They are not on the level they were a year ago. Donovan and Gobert, even though they're both under long-term contract, are under each other's skin. There's all kind of subtweeting and passive aggressive stuff going on."

Mitchell told Tony Jones of The Athletic that he and Gobert are "good" despite the report of tension between him and Gobert.

The Jazz have lost eight of their last 11 games and dropped well out of the race at the top of the Western Conference after being the No. 1 seed last season. Utah already has more losses (21) through 52 games than it did in 72 games (20) last season. 

Tensions between Gobert and Mitchell are nothing new. The relationship between the two was severely fractured at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic over Gobert's carelessness regarding the virus.

Gobert famously mocked the virus in March 2020 by touching all of the mics during a press conference with reporters before later becoming the first NBA player to test positive for COVID-19. Mitchell tested positive days later. 

Gobert and Mitchell worked on their issues over the course of the months between the shutdown of the NBA season and its bubble resumption, eventually coming to an understanding. The pair seemed to have forged a strong bond during the 2020-21 season, with Mitchell saying the media attention helped bring them together. 

"In a strange way, I think that article helped," Mitchell told Tony Jones of The Athletic of an article that described his relationship with Gobert as unsalvageable. "It brought out a level of determination in both of us that we never had. I never had a controversy like that. Here we were, the two pillars of the team, and we had to go to the playoffs in two months. It brought out a different level of tenacity in both of us."

Fractures in the relationship began reappearing throughout this season with the Jazz coming off a disappointing second-round playoff exit. Gobert added fire to the smoke last month when he criticized his teammates' lack of defensive effort.

“When I watch some of these other teams like the Suns or the Warriors, those guys are a step ahead of us in terms of winning habits,” Gobert told reporters last month. “They take every game personally. Devin Booker is playing his ass off defensively. I’ve been watching him compared to two years ago.

“Guys like that, they buy in. You can tell they take pride in playing defense, stopping their man, doing whatever they can defensively to stop the other team and be a part of a winning culture. I think we’re not there yet, but I think we’re gonna get there.”

Many, including Mitchell himself, seemed to take the quote as a public shot at his co-star. When asked about Gobert's comments, Mitchell was clearly perturbed by the situation and offered a terse response.

"We all as a group hold each other accountable. That's his way, I guess. I'm not too concerned about it. His just happened this way. Cool," Mitchell said.

Both Mitchell and Gobert are under contract through at least the 2024-25 season, so the only way a breakup is happening is if the situation reaches a point of no return. For now, though, the Jazz stars appear far closer to reluctant coworkers than the budding friends they were a year ago.