It’s been a rough postseason for the Utah Jazz.
The team is currently facing elimination in the first round against the Dallas Mavericks.
Things were looking pretty bleak in Game 5 on Monday night when the team fell, 102-77.
One of the worst aspects of the night was Jazz star Donovan Mitchell, who limped off the court towards the end of the game after scoring only 9 points.
And now some are thinking his head coach is critiquing him.
These constant quotes about playing for each other and moving the ball better are a pretty big indictment of Donovan Mitchell to me. I'd say his decision-making has been quite poor this series. https://t.co/DNYUtqSFmn
— Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) April 26, 2022
Following the game, Quin Snyder had some choice words for his team.
“We need to create for one another. Our strength is being versatile and having multiple weapons. In a game like tonight you would like to execute better. That means playing for one another,” Snyder said.
Some NBA insiders, like Nate Duncan, think this is a veiled swipe at Mitchell.
Mitchell Mishaps
It’s no secret that Mitchell isn’t performing as he should be in this first round.
He has been scoring a lot of points at times, averaging 26 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 5 assists in the series.
But he has also been missing the mark in some huge ways.
He’s been shooting 37.9% from the floor and 19.5% from three-point range.
No wonder Snyder is thinking that the team needs more versatility.
In fact, ESPN says that Mitchell has the worst plus-mind by any Jazz player in a playoff game since that stat started being tracked back in 1996.
Snyder is right: his team needs to execute better.
And, sadly, they don’t have much time to right their wrongs and get the ship moving in the right direction.
If the team is going to somehow pull out a series victory, they will need Mitchell to start performing like his regular self again.
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