Donovan Mitchell Deserves More Respect as Jazz’s X-Factor

Donovan Mitchell has reminded everyone why the Utah Jazz are the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference since returning from his ankle injury that caused him to miss 17 games, including Game 1 against the Memphis Grizzlies. 

Since dropping Game 1 at home, the Jazz have rallied for three consecutive wins and are in the driver’s seat to win their first-round series. The Jazz have surpassed the Los Angeles Lakers on WynnBET for the second-best NBA title odds at +500. 

It’s no secret that the Jazz are better with Mitchell in the lineup, but it’s interesting that he doesn’t always get respect as one of the league’s premier scorers. This postseason, Mitchell has scored 84 points in his 91 minutes, and he’s in some pretty elite company when it comes to playoff scoring.

It really shouldn’t come as a surprise that Mitchell is the key factor in the Jazz’s success this postseason, but Vegas hasn’t viewed the top-seeded Jazz as a legit contender until now, as they were +850 to win the title during the final week of the regular season. 

The Jazz went 13-6 (.684 winning percentage) without Mitchell this year, and while that is still a good record, they were a more impressive 39-14 (.736 winning percentage) when he was in the lineup. 

Mitchell has come a long way from his second season where he shot just 32.1 percent in the playoffs, and he allows the Jazz to take advantage of their dominant second unit with both Joe Ingles and Jordan Clarkson both coming off the bench. 

The Jazz should close out the Grizzlies over these next three games, and they certainly have a chip on their shoulder after blowing a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets in the NBA’s bubble last postseason. 

The Los Angeles Clippers or Dallas Mavericks will await in the second round, but if Mitchell keeps playing at an All-Star level, the Jazz deserve to get the respect that their season-long play has warranted.