[ad_1]
Cooper Neill/NBAE via Getty Images
The Utah Jazz are facing elimination in Thursday’s Game 6 against the Dallas Mavericks, so it’s imperative to have all hands on deck.
Fortunately for the Jazz, star point guard Donovan Mitchell said he expects to play in the game after an MRI on his left hamstring came back negative Tuesday.
“I’m good to go,” Mitchell said Wednesday, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “I’ll be ready.”
Mitchell had appeared to injure his hamstring when he limped off the court late in Monday’s Game 5 blowout loss. He was diagnosed with bilateral quadriceps contusions by Utah’s medical staff, and he’s still experiencing some soreness.
In Monday’s 102-77 loss, Mitchell had an uncharacteristically quiet game, scoring just nine points on 4-of-15 shooting with four turnovers. The Jazz were outscored by 38 in the 32 minutes that Mitchell was on the floor, which ties for the worst plus-minus in franchise playoff history since the stat was first tracked in 1996-97, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Mitchell had eclipsed 30 points in the first three games of the series. Despite averaging 26.0 points against Dallas, he is shooting just 37.1 percent from the field and 19.5 percent from three-point range through five games. The 25-year-old will have to return to being an All-Star-caliber player if he doesn’t want his season to end Thursday.
Utah is running the risk of being eliminated in the first round of the postseason for the third time in the last four years. It was just last season that the Jazz had the best record in the NBA, so another early playoff exit will surely be a disappointment.
[ad_2]
Source link
