Is Donovan Mitchell's ankle a cause for concern for Utah Jazz?
Much has been made about the versatility of the Utah Jazz – about how they are selfless and can beat you in a number of different ways. And that’s true.
But don’t let that fool you into thinking that the Jazz don’t rely greatly on one player more than any other to make them go – Donovan Mitchell.
And it's Mitchell who might be giving the Jazz cause for concern after Saturday night's Game 3 loss to the LA Clippers. The reasons for that concern center around something far more important than the 132-106 final score – they center around Mitchell's right ankle.
Mitchell had another big scoring night for Utah on Saturday night, topping the 30-point mark for the fifth straight game. But he also appeared to be less than his usually explosive, transcendent self.
He started slowly, missing his first four shots – including a pair of drives to the basket – and didn’t make his first bucket until there was 7:34 left in the second quarter. It was the first time in his last 23 games that Mitchell had gone scoreless in the first quarter, and the first time he’d gone scoreless in any playoff quarter since 2019.
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He ended up making only 11 of his 24 field goal attempts and three of his five free throws. And then, in the fourth quarter, just as the Clippers were beginning to pull away to an easy victory, Mitchell limped off to the locker room after appearing to tweak that right ankle.
Utah coach Quin Snyder said after the game that his star was fine, and the guard remained out merely because the game was out of hand.
Mitchell, who did return to the bench to watch, echoed that statement.
"I’m good," he said. "That’s all I’ve got for you. I’m good. It happened. The situation happened. I feel like I was able to go back, but no need to risk it down 16, 18 at that point."
When asked about what happened on the play in which he tweaked his ankle, Mitchell remained cagey.
"It’s when I land. It’s been … just trying to manage it," he said with a laugh. "I don’t know what else to tell you, I don’t want to say too much. It was just the landing. I’m good, I’ll be ready for Game 4."
The ankle has been an issue for Mitchell through much of the season. He missed the final 16 games of the regular season and Game 1 of Utah’s first-round series against Memphis while recovering from an ankle sprain.
Then, in the closing seconds of a Game 2 victory over the Clippers in Salt Lake City, Mitchell appeared to re-injure the joint in a bizarre collision with LA’s Paul George.
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Mitchell downplayed the incident after the game, saying "I think the biggest thing is just, you know, (stuff) happens. I’m thankful it wasn’t bad. Move on and get ready for Game 3."
But Mitchell was not his usual self in Game 3, and now that the Clippers have pulled within 2-1 in the best-of-seven series – and with Game 4 coming in Los Angeles on Monday – you have to imagine that the Jazz will be closely monitoring the ankle of their 24-year-old star.
As balanced as the Jazz are, no player is more crucial to their playoff hopes than Mitchell, their 6-1 All-Star who averaged 26.4 PPG in the regular season. If Mitchell isn’t himself, the Jazz could find the going difficult against George, Kawhi Leonard and a Clippers team that has found new life.
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