Utah Jazz: Pressure for a title rests on Donovan Mitchell’s shoulders

Rudy Gobert might be the anchor of the Utah Jazz’s defense, but in a league known for its star players, Donovan Mitchell is the face of the franchise.

All along the Wasatch Front, loyal Utah Jazz fans know their basketball.

Strike up a conversation with any one of them, and it won’t be long before you hear talk of Rudy Gobert’s presence in the paint, Bojan Bogdanović’s shooting, Royce O’Neale’s defense, Jordan Clarkson’s energy off the bench or Joe Ingles’ ability to look like every guy who’s ever existed.

Step outside of Utah and into any state with normal-looking liquor laws, however, and people are likely to confuse the aforementioned names with those of local politicians. There is one Jazzman, though, who’s widely known both inside and outside the state of Utah: Donovan Mitchell.

And I get it — for a number of reasons, this makes sense:

• In 2017, he was the 13th overall pick in the NBA Draft.
• In 2018, he was voted to the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team.
• That same year, he handily won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
• And of course, this year, he was named a first-time NBA All-Star.

Getting beyond on-court accolades, Mitchell’s individual style has “mass appeal” written all over it. In college, he played for the infamous Rick Pitino at Louisville. Through his choice of pre-game attire, he helped Ben Simmons define what it means to be a “rookie.” Heck, even NFL players have taken to full-blown Mitchell fanhood, rocking his jersey on a regular basis.

The skinny of the situation, though?

Apart from popularity — more so than Gobert, even — on the court, as Mitchell goes, so too do the rest of his Jazz teammates. Gobert might be a statistical giant unlike anything Jazz fans or executives have ever witnessed, but as this writer sees it, Mitchell is the Jazz’s clear-cut leader.

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This season, at only 23 years of age, he’s the lead shot-taker for the Utah Jazz, averaging a staggering 4.5 more shots than Bogdanović per game. In fact, including his 2017-2018 rookie campaign, this is a trend that’s held constant for each of Mitchell’s three years in the Association.

To date, throughout the course of those three years, Mitchell’s played in 209 of a possible 218 Jazz games — that’s just shy of 96 percent game-time attendance on Mitchell’s part.

Even more impressive, Mitchell’s first and second years in the league resulted in 48- and 50-win seasons for a Jazz team that failed to make the postseason in four of the five years before his arrival in Utah.

Remember, Gobert was drafted in 2013 — he was present for three of those brutal seasons.

Currently, the Jazz are on pace for 55 wins. If reached, that would be the franchise’s highest win total since the 1999-2000 season.

A massive part of the team’s success stems from Mitchell’s offensive production. Over the past three seasons, with Mitchell on the court, the Utah Jazz have an offensive rating of 111.5 — remarkable, given Mitchell’s age and the Jazz’s reliance on him.

https://twitter.com/utahjazz/status/1204937218315309057

Looking past the numbers, though, you don’t need to have the mind of Nate Duncan to recognize the impact of Mitchell’s play on the court. He’s aggressive; he’s a slasher. When hot, he can hit from deep with the best of ‘em, but he’s equally content to challenge big men at the rim, as well.

The most crucial part of Mitchell’s game, however, is the Damian Lillard-like mentality he summons come crunch time. In tight games, near the end of the third quarter or start of the fourth, there’s always a “line-in-the-sand” moment from Mitchell in which he’ll hit a much-needed jumper or draw contact for an and-one opportunity — from that point on, the game is his for the taking.

Trust me. This all very much matters …

The Jazz moved from New Orleans to Salt Lake City in 1979. Since the team’s arrival in Utah, Jazz fans have become well acquainted with the thrill of high expectations and the emotional gut-punch that comes from a crippling failure to meet them over and over (and over) again …

Thank you for bringing it up, Mr. Rosenthal.

Listen, Gobert is great. Bogdanovic is brilliant. O’Neale is outstanding. Clarkson is clutch.

None of them are (nor ever will be) Mitchell, though.

Should the Utah Jazz finally bring a title to the Salt Lake Valley this year, it will be because Mitchell will have elevated his game after the All-Star break. Cut and dry, the weight of making that happen rests squarely on his shoulders — his and his alone.