Winner of a Luka Doncic amputee Dallas in Game 1 (99-93), the Jazz have already regained home field advantage in their series against the Mavs. An encounter that was again marked by doubts about the offensive use of Rudy Gobert. But Donovan Mitchell seems to see things a little differently…
It was the first game of these 2022 playoffs and did not disappoint. Atypical, defensive and tense, the meeting between the Mavericks and the Jazz in Dallas kept all its promises and launched the spring festivities perfectly. If Bojan Bogdanovic shone on the Utah side, as did Donovan Mitchell in the second half, the best player in the game is being called out by many a Rudy Gobert. But still…
Far from his usual standards of attack due to lack of ball, the Frenchman was once again largely ignored by his teammates, to the point of almost never seen sign of all time † In more than 35 minutes on the floor, the French took just one shot, for a string of stats of 5 points (all free throws), 17 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Donovan Mitchell saw good use of Rudy Gobert
If the Saint-Quentin native’s defensive performance made everyone agree, to the point that it got him some very strong words, to see it limited to a single shot seems like an aberration. Many fans, observers and commentators were moved by it… but Mitchell was not. Present to the press after the meeting, Spida, who took 29 photos, seemed to have seen things from a different angle:
Journalist: “What did you think of the team’s performance when Dallas chose to play small-ball? †
Mitchell: “Well, I think we did a good job. Whether it’s finding Rudy on the roll, getting Rudy rolling and allowing us to grab the key, finding open three-pointers and attacking in different ways, we’ve done a great job.”
For Mitchell, who during his press conference did not fail to consult the statistics several times and quote some figures, Gobert was found sufficient on pick-and-roll, and he was generally used optimally on the offensive.
A somewhat surprising look at the business of the man who took 29 times more shots than his pivotal colleague in this Game 1, because an old saying has long been the law in the basketball world: “keep the big man happy”, giving him enough shots and scoring opportunities here and there. At this point, the Jazz has completely freed itself from this rule, and it will be interesting to see if the trend rebalances during Game 2.
By firing just once, Rudy Gobert had a decisive grip on the game, as did Donovan Mitchell in an ultra-different register (32 points on 29 shots). Spida appreciated how things were going, but not sure if that was the case for the Frenchman, who was very often injured by his own teammates during the attack. To be continued…
