While Donovan Mitchell was rightly recognized and lionized for taking on extra responsibility and expanding his comfort zone while the Jazz were devoid of point guards for a stretch, he was hardly the only player who stepped up during that time.
Indeed, with Ricky Rubio’s return to the starting lineup Wednesday night in his second game back from a hamstring strain, it ended a run of six consecutive games in which Royce O’Neale not only started, but never played less than 26 minutes and 44 seconds.
“My mentality is always being ready to play, whether it’s five minutes to 10 minutes to 20, always being ready to play hard,” O’Neale said.