Mitchell: ‘Just the beginning’ for Jazz after playoff loss

Jazz All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell was highly critical of Utah’s playoff losses to Denver – his eight-second violation in Game 1. He knocked down a big lead in Game 5. He didn’t match Denver’s intensity in Game 6. Losing the ball late -Fourth game 7.

It all added up to 6th seed Utah being on the wrong side of NBA history as the Nuggets became the 12th team in league annals to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a series. .

One thing Donovan won’t argue with: the direction of the Jazz. He likes the track record they’re on with the team that reaches the postseason for the fourth straight season. This was just another lesson to be learned.

“This is not going to happen again,” said Mitchell, a third-year player from Louisville. “I am ready to play again right now. We all are. This is just the beginning.”

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– utahjazz (@utahjazz) September 2, 2020

Mitchell fell to the ground after Mike Conley’s 3-point attempt rang at the bell for Game 7.

His first emotion: shock.

“We worked very hard, as a unit, as a whole, to get to a point that we got to, and we were that close,” said Mitchell, whose team recovered from a 19-point deficit in the 80-78 loss. “Being so close hurts.”

Your after thought: Use feelings as motivation in the offseason.

Mitchell averaged 36.3 points in the series, including games of 57 and 51 points. He became the fifth player in NBA history to score 50 or more twice in a single postseason. He joins the company of Allen Iverson (2001), Michael Jordan (1993, 1988), Wilt Chamberlain (1960) and Jamal Murray, his counterpart during this series and the player who reached out and hugged him at the end.

Mitchell, who turns 24 next week, took his game to another level on the bigger stage.

“This is me scratching the surface,” Mitchell said. “I’ll be right back. We’ll be back.”

It’s a sentiment shared by center Rudy Gobert.

“You want to win. We will do it. I have no doubt that we will, ”Gobert said. “We started something. Now we have to finish it. “

Gobert and Mitchell were on the same page in this series, celebrating together after big basket after big basket. That wasn’t exactly the case a little while ago.

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– utahjazz (@utahjazz) September 2, 2020

Their connection was fractured after Gobert became the first player in the league to test positive for the coronavirus. Two days before that, Gobert playfully played all the recorders on a table in front of him during a press session on March 9. Gobert soon tested positive, followed by Mitchell.

Little by little, they fixed the relationship.

“It’s been an interesting few months,” Gobert said. “A few months ago, I was probably not in the right space mentally to go out and play with my team. We found a way to make it happen. To be able to count on the support of my teammates during the last months, since we are in the bubble, after everything that happened… I really tried to give everything I could for this team ”.

MITCHELL’S MESSAGE

Mitchell Bubble Missions – Earn a title and spread the word. Now, she will continue to use her platform for social justice and speak out about racism from home.

Last week, following a playoff stoppage, the league and players agreed to establish a social justice coalition, made up of players, coaches and owners, that would focus on issues such as voting access and advocating for meaningful reform of the police and criminal justice. .

“The closer we get to the final, I hope the guys continue to use their voices,” Mitchell said. “Because people are listening.”

BOJAN LOST

The Jazz played the restart without their main three-point threat, Bojan Bogdanovic, who underwent wrist surgery in May. His presence in this series was missed and will be featured next season.

“With Bojan’s return, I’m not going to bet on Bojan, but his return is another weapon,” Mitchell said.

A PRIVILEGE

Jazz coach Quin Snyder reiterated how much this team meant to him.

“This is a group that was a great privilege to train and be around for the past few months,” Snyder said. “Seeing a group of players come together like this at such a difficult time is something I will remember as incredibly special.”

GETTING ON THE DEFENSIVE

The 7-foot-1-inch Gobert saw his two-year reign as NBA defensive player of the year come to an end when Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo won the award.

Gobert made his first All-Star team this season.

BANK SPARK

Jazz point guard Jordan Clarkson was a huge boost from the bench after being acquired in a December trade with Cleveland. In the playoffs, he averaged 16.7 points. Only Thurl Bailey (23.2 points in 1988) and Paul Millsap (18 points in 2010) averaged more off the bench for Utah in a postseason.

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