Donovan Mitchell sat in a cramped Portland locker room late Wednesday, adorned in a sweatshirt with a giant pair of headphones, upset with himself and his performance in a game that meant so much to the Jazz.
The Trail Blazers had guarded Mitchell as if their lives depended on it. They pushed and shoved him around screens. They limited his space in pick-and-rolls. They made sure to contest his jumper. They put bodies between him and the rim at all times. And Mitchell wasn’t ready for it.
As Utah prepares for Game 1 of its Western Conference first-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday, one of the biggest questions surrounding the Jazz is how the kid from Louisville will respond to playoff intensity.