Mitchell’s Jazz Soar From Behind to Take Win From OKC

Mitchell spent the night in attack mode in Utah’s season opener. (Game still)

The Jazz’s season opener against the Thunder on Wednesday night was unsurprisingly surprising. It was a rollercoaster of a game, with some expected bumps along the way as the Jazz continue to learn how to play with each other. They ended up with the victory in a very Jazz-esque form, capitalizing on just enough opportunities in the fourth quarter and making a final run to put them on top of the Oklahoma City Thunder, 100-95.

What did this season opener mean for the Utah Jazz?

It’s time to take note of this Utah team’s true potential.

The Jazz followed an exciting offseason of high expectations with a not-so-exciting preseason, as disappointing losses piled up. Jazz fans weren’t sure what to expect in the Wednesday night game facing the Thunder. But the flashes of greatness during the game made it clear that the potential is there for the Jazz to be very good.

Many of those flashes came from Utah’s star guard Donovan Mitchel, who scored 32 points on an impressive 14-of-22 from the field.

Mitchell is the real deal. After the Jazz’s first-round playoff exit, fans were excited to see how Utah’s new additions would impact the Jazz. For the first time since the Jazz drafted Mitchell he became more of a background story. But in his 36 minutes on Wednesday, he really showed why the Jazz can be so elite: because he is elite.

His 32 points and 12 rebounds (a career-high) made for a very impressive stat line, but more impressive was his presence in the unquantified moments. In a physical stretch during the first half of the game he was animated on the bench, cheering on teammates and even leaving the bench to help them up when they fell down. Most impressive was his ability to perform when he needed to. As the first half of the game was drawing to an end, Mitchell split two defenders and finished with a nice two-handed slam. At the end of the fourth quarter, Donovan sealed the deal with a smooth jumper to finish the game off. Mitchell made great plays and he made them when they mattered. He also looked good doing it.

ＵＮＣＯＮＣＩＯＵＳ#TakeNote #TakeNote #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/q75loNS0ij

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 24, 2019

Bojan Bogdanvic added 16 points, including a first-half stretch where he carried the Jazz offensively. Royce O’Neale shot perfect from the field on six attempts to finish with 14 total points. And Emmanuel Mudiay was phenomenal off the bench, aggressively attacking the rim at every opportunity adding 12 points. Utah’s All-NBA center Rudy Gobert had a quiet seven points on six attempts, but finished with a monster 14 rebounds and his usual lockdown defense inside.

Meanwhile, newcomer Mike Conley struggled with his shot, going just 1-for-16 from the floor for five points in his Jazz debut. That said, Conley is a veteran. He had a poor night, but he also has 13 successful seasons under his belt. Just like an old, but reliable car, the win wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done and showed the potential for even brighter days ahead.

Utah had to play from behind to secure their first win of the young season. Chris Paul’s 15-foot jumper with 11:07 left in the fourth quarter put the Jazz eight points behind, the largest lead of the night for the Thunder. That is when things started to turn around. The Jazz rallied together on a 17-6 run with nice plays from Mudiay, Bogdonavic, and of course Mitchell. The Jazz managed to pull ahead with a three-point lead which they carried until the end of the game to finish off on top. Head coach Quin Snyder was able to make the adjustments needed during a timeout when the Jazz trailed by four, 72-76 and propel his players to a nice run which allowed them to win the game. This came hours after the Jazz announced a big contract extension for Snyder.

What is on the radar? At the end of the night, the Jazz barely topped off a young and not-so-impressive Thunder team. A lot of adjustments will have to be made before they face the powerful and star-studded Los Angeles Lakers in their road opener. The Lakers will be coming off a loss and fired up as they look for the first win of the season. The good news? They have Mitchell.