Jazz’s Mitchell has left foot bruise, uncertain for Game 2
Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) shoots as Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jerami Grant, left, defends in the second half of Game 1 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series in Oklahoma City, Sunday, April 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
OKLAHOMA CITY — Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell has a left foot bruise and his status is uncertain for Game 2 of the Western Conference playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Mitchell left Oklahoma City’s 116-108 win Game 1 on Sunday after stubbing his toe in the third quarter, and he played sporadically the rest of the way. A team spokesman said Mitchell had an MRI on Monday, and the team will provide a status update on Tuesday. When asked if he was concerned about missing Game 2 on Wednesday, Mitchell said, “Not at all.”
Article continues after this advertisement“I can walk,” he said. “I think tomorrow will be the deciding factor, but I feel fine. I feel fine right now.”
Mitchell is one of the league’s top rookies. He averaged 20.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists during the regular season. He had 27 points and 10 rebounds in Game 1.
Mitchell did not try to run on the foot on Monday, saying there was no need to. He said he expects to be able to help the Jazz bounce back.
Article continues after this advertisement“We were stagnant,” he said. “The ball didn’t move as much as we had hoped or as we would like. We made those adjustments in practice just now.”
Oklahoma City’s Carmelo Anthony and Russell Westbrook were asked about Mitchell after Sunday’s game. At one point, Anthony said he’d already answered one and he’d let Westbrook take the second. Westbrook deflected it.
“We just came out and competed,” Westbrook said. “Both teams played hard.”
As for the actual game, Mitchell said Westbrook was focused defensively and Thunder guard Corey Brewer was a better defensive player than he thought. He said being exposed to the environment should pay off on Wednesday.
“Now that we’ve got the first game under our belt — some of us haven’t played in the playoffs — we know the atmosphere, we know how loud it’s going to be in here,” he said. “I think coming out the second game, we’ll be more poised and more calm.”
