3 predictions for Donovan Mitchell in NBA bubble restart

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HOUSTON, TX – APRIL 24: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz drives to the basket defended by Clint Capela #15 of the Houston Rockets in the first half during Game Five of the first round of the 2019 NBA Western Conference Playoffs between the Houston Rockets and the Utah Jazz at Toyota Center on April 24, 2019 in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

Donovan Mitchell and Jazz get out of the first round

It’s been such a wonky four or five months that Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert testing positive for the virus and beefing over it is like the 53rd weirdest thing to happen just in the NBA alone.

Teams are playing in a “bubble,” taking temperatures and testing for coronavirus daily, minimizing contact to the point where the NBA has literally banned doubles ping pong (seriously), all to play at the same places every day in front of no fans.

So, with all that said, is it that far-fetched to believe that Donovan Mitchell and the Jazz can’t make a playoff push and get past the first round?

After all, in Mitchell’s rookie year, he almost single-handedly guided a middling Jazz team on an incredible run to get into the playoffs and then took down Oklahoma City in the first round.

The last two seasons, including year one for Mitchell when they defeated the Thunder, have ended poorly with Houston knocking the Jazz out in five games. But, given all of the weird things going on, should it be surprising at all if some really weird, unexpected team ends up making some noise and an unexpected push through the playoffs?

Why not the Jazz? They have two All-Star starters, a third former All-Star, and a respectable enough rotation. They are stout on defense, a good shooting team, and they don’t have to worry about going on the road, where they have traditionally struggled, to play anyone.

Veteran point guard Mike Conley is the X-factor here. The Jazz paid the man to come in and be everything that Ricky Rubio was not the two seasons prior. It could be argued that the Jazz were better off with Rubio after Conley’s transition from All-Star in Memphis has been a rough one.

The benefit for the Jazz is that Conley has now gotten more rest than any other time in his career, and he has the potential to step up and be a real catalyst for a playoff push.

Mitchell will also likely play a lot more with back-up guard Jordan Clarkson, who has been an extremely pleasant surprise in 2020. The dynamic of Clarkson and Mitchell as a long, blazing-fast, knock-down shooting duo is intriguing. Stretch forward Bojan Bogdanovic is out for the season after the team elected to put him through minor surgery in order to have him ready for next season. That means some interesting lineups are in the works for the Jazz that teams have not had time to prepare for.

Things will be interesting to say the least, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see Mitchell and the Jazz make a push.

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