surprise absence from Game 1, Spida frustrated, we knew better to start the Playoffs

Absent since mid-April because of a big sore ankle, Donovan Mitchell felt ready to make his comeback during Game 1 of the first round of the Playoffs between the Jazz and the Grizzlies. But in the end, Spida was left on the sidelines once again, much to the surprise of his friends.

The Jazz would no doubt have hoped for a better start for its 2021 Playoffs. Approaching them in the costume of the best team of the regular season, the Mormons released Game 1 in front of their audience, a Game 1 in which Donovan Mitchell would have done good if he could have been in the field. But no, again, Spida was forced to watch his pals get by without him. And we imagine that it must have boiled inside. Because following the shootaround a few hours before the start of the first game of the series, Mitchell had announced that he was ready to make his comeback on the floors. As a reminder, the back has not played the game since his ankle injury on April 16. A long absence that seemed on the verge of ending, until this news balanced by ESPN around 2 a.m. last night: the staff felt that Mitchell was not fit to participate in Game 1. “A great surprise” for Rudy Gobert, a great frustration for Donovan, and necessarily disrupted preparation for Jazz. Really not great to start the Playoffs in good conditions.

Quin Snyder says Jazz medical staff met with Donovan Mitchell after shootaround and decided to hold him out of Game 1. He acknowledged that Mitchell, who declared himself “ready to go” when he talked to media post-shootaround, isn’t pleased with the decision.

— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) May 23, 2021

“Obviously we miss him, especially in the Playoffs. I don’t know what happened, honestly, between him and the staff so that he didn’t play. You should ask him. “

– Bojan Bogdanovic, via The Salt Lake Tribune

Weird all that. And suddenly, we wonder how this situation will evolve because the Jazz is already under pressure after its defeat in the first round. The Utah staff will continue to assess Donovan day after day before finally giving him the green light. Game 2 between the Mormons and the Grizzlies is scheduled for the night of Wednesday to Thursday, still in Salt Lake City, a game that the former will have to win if they do not want to end up completely with their backs to the wall. Because hey, going to Memphis at 0-2, let’s say that’s not a good idea at all. The pressure that accompanies this encounter could favor Mitchell’s return, although the player’s health must remain the priority.. In the midst of this constant uncertainty, the Jazz must rely on its collective as it was able to do at the end of the regular season. Utah was probably confused by this somewhat WTF scenario in Game 1, now the goal is to move on as quickly as possible and straighten out no matter what. with Mitchell.

Will we see Donovan Mitchell on the Jazz floor during the second round between Utah and Memphis? Difficult to say at the time of these lines, but the situation surrounding Spida is far from fluid and that is not very good when you have ambitions in Playoffs. File to follow closely in the days to come.

Source texte : ESPN / The Salt Lake Tribune

Rudy Gobert, on the Donovan Mitchell situation: “It was a big surprise. But I try to stay out of all this — it’s just gonna give me a headache. … When you wake up from a nap and find out your star player isn’t going to play, it throws you off a little bit.”

— Eric Walden (@tribjazz) May 24, 2021

Bojan Bogdanovic, on Donovan Mitchell: “Of course we missed him, especially in the playoffs. I don’t know what happened, honestly, with the medical staff and him, to hold him out. You should ask him.”

— Eric Walden (@tribjazz) May 24, 2021