Observing Jazz’s first-round playoff match with the Denver Nuggets, Donovan Mitchell considered it carefully, measuring it from tip to tail, and then used six words – seven if you don’t pay attention to twitch – to put it in place. quite right .
“It will not be easy.”
As grandfather said, nothing is ever worth it.
No, the Jazz wanted the Nuggets.
As Grandma used to say, be careful what you wish for.
Jazz aim to be careful.
Mitchell added: “If we play right, we can make it easier for ourselves.”
If the Jazz are as accurate as his rating, they might be able to extend this series to seven games.
If not, they will suffer for what they endured in their first three fights with these two Rocky Mountain teams: defeat. They were all close and intensely competitive, the crown jewel came last week in a stunning double thriller where Jazz took the lead, lost it, then fought to win it back, then lost it again, won I lost it.
After that, Mitchell berated himself for hitting a spectacular shot for the Jazz victory, but in doing so, leaving 3.4 seconds on the clock – enough time for the Nuggets to do their wonders.
And he was right to blame himself. This is the burden elite NBA players have to carry. It is a different category in which they are judged. While they play well, they sound amazing, but they leave minimal room for an opponent to take the prize … well, greatness is a steep, steep climb.
Praise brightly, but judge harshly.
Everything Mitchell knows: “I just have to make the right decisions,” he said. “Find areas I can attack. … It’s my job to find the file [Nuggets’] weaknesses “.
He, along with Rudy Gobert, must do what the stars do. He has to do what LeBron James does for the Lakers, what Kawhi Leonard does for the Clippers, what Nikola Jokic does for the Nuggets, what Harden does for the Rockets, what Chris Paul does for the Thunder.
It’s a good task, a good task for the 23-year-old, but … it’s time for him now. That’s what he has to do in the playoffs. We’ll see if that’s what he can do.
By repeating his words, it will not be easy.
Being a star in the playoffs generally isn’t.
That’s what Mitchell always wanted to demand of himself. He has absorbed that responsibility in those past playoff series – against the Thunder (successfully) and the Rockets twice (unsuccessfully).
Conversely, playing at its peak doesn’t mean Mitchell has to do it all by himself. Trying to do so would be a mistake, and he knows it too.
“For us,” he said, “it’s about maximizing everything we do.”
Do the work that needs to be done.
Jordan Clarkson said: “We have to face one game at a time”.
It would be tempting to laugh straight at Clarkson for using such a cliché, if it weren’t absolutely true. This series, like most playoffs, will require focus and strength from the Jazz, at both ends, game by game, quarter by quarter, minute by minute, possession by possession.
If they succeed, every match will be a complete downing, and while few expect Jazz to truly defeat Denver, it won’t be an insurmountable task if four unlikely things happen.
• The Jazz have to help Gobert on the defensive side by helping themselves. He’ll be pretty busy trying to limit Jokic, the big one who can play as a bottom one … bumping, bumping, bumping … and shooting like an oversized perimeter player on top. With Gobert taking care of this, it’s harder for him to ignore his primary duties of cleaning up the mess when Jazz’s guards and wings are defeated by dribbling.
• Jazz has to catch and make a large number of 3. Quin Snyder emphasized this in reforming his Florida offense. Ironic, in a way, considering he’s remodeling without Bogdanovic, who is extremely accurate from the bottom up. He still wants the ball to go to Gobert from the pick and roll, but as the Jazz are no longer the defensive stronghold they once were, they’ll have to get past the Nuggets, a team known for giving up their share at that point.
• Jazz cannot turn the ball. Because of the way they prefer to move the ball, sometimes the propensity to pass gets sloppy, and some of that is understandable. But if it gets too much, the Nugs will punish the Jazz with an anticipated offense. And it would be difficult to keep up.
• Find a way to disturb Jamal Murray. While everyone will be watching the Gobert-Jokic showdown, and some will be peering at the contributions of fledgling Michael Porter Jr., Murray is a force that has been rude to Jazz in the past. Someone has to step up and stay with and slow the guard, especially in the mid-range, for the Jazz to survive.
It will not be easy. Is there an echo here? Yes, there is, and Mitchell’s words will pick up, be heard again and again in this series. We’re about to find out if Jazz can make things easier.
GORDON MONSON hosts “The Big Show” with Jake Scott weekdays from 2pm to 7pm on 97.5 FM and 1280 AM The Zone.
