It is difficult for a person to be anyone but himself and Donovan Mitchell is feeling no different. The Utah Jazz star is known for his fierce intensity and athleticism. And that has helped him become a lethal and forceful scorer.
But he is living through a lot of pain lately. His right ankle is yet to heal and that has limited his performance on the court. He had sprained it on April 16.
He has come to terms with it. His game has always been marked by explosive intensity as he outjumps most opponents or bursts through the defense. But for the first time in his career, he has been confined to the floor. And playing below his full potential in the playoffs has made matters worse for Donovan Mitchell.
He says that he has to find a way around and continue to play, even if not to his full potential. He says that they haven’t come to the second round to go down tamely and they need to figure it out. Or it would mean the end of the road. His frustration came through in his words.
Since spraining his ankle on April 16. Donovan Mitchell has aggravated his injury by continuing to play. That has affected his performance since the opening two games where he had an average of 41 points.
Despite his injury, Mitchell has been close to his best on most occasions. But he cannot win the game by himself every time, especially when he isn’t playing to his potential.
Rudy Gilbert summed it up when he said that Donovan Mitchell playing at 90% of his potential was better than Donovan off the field. And it is for the rest of the team to give him all the support.
A Tough Series For Donovan Mitchell
All the support that he has got from his team hasn’t taken away from the fact that it has been an extremely stressful year for Mitchell.
They desperately need to win an elimination game at Los Angeles Friday, and Game 7 two days later at Vivint Arena. It would be a validation of his efforts, but things will be tough for Mitchell as he will have to live with the pain for now.
The Game 5 loss to the Clippers 132-106. rankles for Mitchell. After all that he and his team have gone through, the thought of trailing 2-3 and the prospect of being bounced out of the playoffs even before reaching the Western Conference Finals is tough for Mitchell.
The Jazz gets just one day to get their act together. As they hit the road, Donovan Mitchell and his team were staring at the prospect of losing everything midway through after a promising start.
