After a disappointing finish in the 2021 playoffs, we can expect young star Donovan Mitchell to play with a huge chip on his shoulder this upcoming season.
Despite finishing with the NBA’s best record, Mitch and his Jazz were sent home in Round 2, validating all the haters and doubters who never believed they were true contenders to begin with.
As they prepare for a new season, hardly having made any moves, everyone seems to be counting them out once again.
But in a recent workout video that has gone viral on Twitter, Mitchell is seen draining some insane half-court jumpers, perhaps suggesting he may be ready to take that next step.
Spida working on that RANGE 🎯 @spidadmitchell (via @Cbrickley603) pic.twitter.com/DmYToCgDFA
— Overtime (@overtime) August 29, 2021
Making shots in practice is obviously different than making them in a game, but Mitch makes them look so easy here.
He just throws them up drills it in one motion, just like everyone’s favorite shooter in Golden State.
If he can start hitting threes like that consistently, it would obviously work wonders for Utah’s offensive schemes.
The question is, will it be enough to put them over the edge? They aren’t as stacked or as deep as some other squads in their Conference, but there is some suspicion they could be in for a big year.
“I love Donovan Mitchell‘s progression as a star player in the league,” said ESPN analyst Amin Elhassan on SiriusXM NBA Radio. “I look at Utah as a team that looks towards the mirror like, ‘To hell with that. We was the best team last year, and we didn’t get it done’. And now they’re going to come back with a vengeance to show everybody this wasn’t a fluke.”
Rudy Gobert’s infamous COVID-19 incident reportedly caused a rift in the locker room, and nobody knows if that rift still exists. Last year’s defeat alone was enough to cause some serious damage to team morale.
Regardless, it’s not wise to count the Jazz out this year. With Rudy Gobert still in his prime, and Donovan Mitchell seemingly getting better and better, they’re going to be out to prove themselves to the world.
And they are more than capable of making some noise.
