The Utah Jazz have ascended to new heights, especially on the offensive end, on the back of rookie guard Donovan Mitchell. The youngster put together flashes of brilliance during Game 5 against the Houston Rockets, but Mitchell’s night ran into a speed bump midway through the fourth quarter, when he collided with MVP front-runner James Harden and had to be helped to the locker room immediately.
Oh no. Mitchell carried to the locker room after banging knees with James Harden… https://t.co/J1aEwlbxmx
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) May 9, 2018
The injury came on the heels of a thoroughly explosive third quarter in which Mitchell went off to the tune of 22 points (on just 11 field goal attempts) and almost singlehandedly led Utah out of a double-figure deficit and into the lead on the road. When he exited the game at the 7:09 mark of the fourth quarter, the Jazz trailed by five points and, given the team’s reliance on Mitchell for shot creation, an uphill battle exists when it comes to making up that ground in a hostile environment.
Still, the overarching takeaway is the brutal timing and nature of the injury, even as formal updates have not arrived when it comes to severity. Mitchell was clearly in pain and laboring as he left the floor and all eyes were on him and his injury status as a result. We’ll keep you updated as more information becomes available.
