Jazz dual-core Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert
has a kind of stubbornness called Utah Jazz .
When talking about the Utah Jazz, the first thing you think of may be the team led by Stockton and Malone against Jordan , because that was the only two finals experience in their team's history. Unlike Boston or Los Angeles, this small team located in remote Salt Lake City does not have a very glorious history, and few stars are willing to come to Salt Lake City to play. This team has to be self-reliant from beginning to end. , relying on the management's vision in the draft to cultivate superstars belonging to Utah . Such a team rarely succeeds, but even so, they never admit defeat, relying on this unique "Utah" "Style stubbornness", they seemed to finally see hope in the 2017 draft, and the ray of light in the dark night was Donovan Mitchell.
For the Jazz, which was preparing to rebuild at the time, Mitchell was undoubtedly a surprise. After more than a dozen games, the No. 13 pick quickly emerged and became a stable starter for the team, and in the season After the game, led the team to fight against the new version of the Thunder Big Three composed of Westbrook , George and Anthony . He smashed Huashan's dunks, counterattacks and breakthroughs time and time again. He used Westbrook's way After defeating Westbrook, his handling of the ball similar to Wade's was recognized by the outside world as the new generation of Wade's successor. This rookie shocked fans all over the world at the time. Slowly, he became a well-deserved player of the Jazz. Although the leader has been defeated by Harden's Rockets for two consecutive years, compared with the long and endless wait, what does this failure mean? Utah could very well be witnessing the birth of a superstar. Sure enough, in the first round of the playoffs against the Nuggets in the third year, Mitchell showed off his power, scoring 50+ points many times, leading the team to a 3-1 lead over the Nuggets, and strongly responded to the doubts from the outside world. , but suffered a crazy counterattack by the Nuggets in the last few games. In the last game of the series, we witnessed the young man’s tears for the first time. The game was still full of suspense until the last moment. Mitchell’s key A mistake almost ruined the game, but the Nuggets failed to seize the layup that ended the series. Facing the empty basket, they made a mistake. The Jazz grabbed the rebound. At this time, outside the three-point line in the frontcourt, the unguarded Mi Mitchell opened his arms, but did not wait until the ball was safely handed to his hands. Conley ended the Utah Jazz's entire season with a floating three-pointer. Mitchell, who witnessed this scene, fell to the ground when he saw this scene. , unwilling to get up for a long time, he scored 57 points in the first game of the series and 51 points in G3. In this round, he had tried his best, but he blamed himself extremely. Failure came, just like every superhero will taste before coming back strong. It was like a failure. After holding back his emotions and hugging Murray to greet him, Mitchell buried his face deeply with his arms on the way back to the locker room. Tears could no longer be concealed and burst out from his eyes. Veteran Inge Else was on the side, holding him with one hand like an elder, silently comforting this young man who had just entered the league. Facing the camera, he cried like a child, and you could even hear his slight nasal voice. At that moment, this Utah superstar deeply moved me with his desire to win and his true nature.I can still remember every scene of his struggle in that life-and-death battle. He injected endless energy into this team. The team fell behind by 19 points and was on the verge of collapse. It fell into chaos and couldn't see the way forward. At that time, it was he who stood up and used his inside attacks and roars to peel away the fog that covered their eyes. It was every key goal he hit and every rebound he grabbed that boosted morale. Every time he raised his arms and shouted in excitement, he was invisibly encouraged and supported his teammates to move forward. He played the last 24 minutes. When he was tired, he stopped working on the offensive end. If he couldn't stand it anymore, he just let Snyder called a timeout, went off the court to drink water, took a deep breath, and then continued to play hard. Yes, at this moment, he is Utah's superstar and an unquestionable superhero!
Mitchell inspired everyone with his performance time and again in the series against the Nuggets
After the failure, he lay on the ground and refused to get up for a long time
The young Mitchell shed tears on the court
Just like the superhero in the story , in the 2020-2021 season, along with the pain of losing in the tiebreaker last year, after going through offseason adjustments and training, the brand-new Mitchell and his Utah Jazz are back strong! Not long after the start of the season, the Utah Jazz showed a new side of him, overtaking the Lakers in the record list to become first in the league. Mitchell also proved that his change is not just about his hair style, he is becoming more and more like a real superstar. , in the game against Clippers , in the last three minutes of the game, the team was 13 points behind the opponent and almost in despair. During a layup, Mitchell was fouled by the opponent and fell to the ground. Mitchell looked like the unwilling figure lying on the ground after last year's tiebreaker, but he was no longer the powerless person he was then. After steadily hitting two free throws, the team fell behind by eight points. Time ran out little by little. At this time, Mitchell stood up, first counterattacked with a steal and scored a layup, and then successfully destroyed the opponent's serve. The exciting and iconic roar appeared again. After a timeout, Jazz showed Showing their long-famous discipline and teamwork, from the movement of each member to the ball being delivered to Mitchell, all actions were done in one go. It looked so perfect. After receiving the ball, Mitchell turned over forcefully. , hit a difficult three-pointer. At the life-and-death moment of the game, Coach Snyder chose to believe in his star quality. Mitchell brought the ball to the frontcourt and forced a shot, hitting a difficult and key three-pointer again, putting the game away. The suspense has been restored. Key goals like this have been played frequently this season. Donovan Mitchell seems to be proving to the entire league that he has launched an impact on the top of the league. However, the league's first record and his fiery performance have not been recognized by the outside world. The Jazz have also been labeled as a pseudo-strong team in the regular season. In the All-Star selection process, the two strongest teams in the league The famous stars were placed in the last two positions. LeBron bluntly said: "No one will choose the Jazz in the game, even Stockton + Malone." Shark O'Neal denied Mitchell's upper limit, even so Despite their hard work, the Jazz still did not get the outside world's best results, but this team that refused to admit defeat showed their stubbornness. Even though Mitchell suffered an injury in the second half of the season, they still maintained their first place in the regular season. at last. The playoffs where
tested the results were coming soon. After defeating the Grizzlies in the first round, the Jazz faced the two-star Clippers. was once again looked down upon by the outside world. With doubts, the team's third We were in trouble in just one game, falling behind by 14 points in the first half. Michael's encouragement and the Jazz's stubbornness showed up again, and they pulled the game back abruptly. Mitchell scored 45 points alone, which made people really realize His growth.But tragedy struck again. Mitchell was injured, and the Clippers seemed to have found the key to victory. The situation suddenly changed. The Jazz, who held the two-game lead, were reversed by the Clippers. In the life-and-death battle of G6, the Jazz had no way out. , Mitchell played through injuries, like a tenacious fighter. The Clippers locked up the Jazz's outside line, and he used his tough inside line to kill opponents. The Clippers implemented a double-teaming tactic against him, and he used pick-and-roll and then double-teamed before being unreasonable. The three-pointer forced the defense to take a 25-point lead in the first half. When everyone thought the game was about to enter a tiebreaker, the Clippers began to exert their strength. The Jazz's Achilles' heel was exposed. When Director Lu used the Clippers' excellent In a small lineup, the Jazz had no power to fight back. Gobert, the former best defensive player, was used as a target by the Clippers on the defensive end. He was called out by Reggie Jackson and Paul George again and again. On the offensive end, they do not have the ability to attack independently and cannot punish the opponent's small lineup in the interior. The Clippers strengthened their outside defense and forced Mitchell into individual singles. Mitchell's weaknesses were also exposed. His height of 185cm made him He cannot quickly and accurately find open teammates in the face of double-teams like Doncic, nor can he use James Durant's hard-hitting ability to reverse the game. He can only place bets on three-pointers with uncertainty again and again. On the night, with a foot injury, he scored 39 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists. He tried his best, but the Clippers completed a 25-point reversal and took away the series. The Jazz bid farewell to their dream season. As a small-ball market player, team, they relied on their own strength and tenacity to transform from the most inconspicuous team to a regular season champion, and they did their best. After losing this time, Mitchell no longer looked like the tearful child last year, but more like an adult who was forced to accept the reality. At the last moment when he was helpless, he was replaced, sat on the sidelines, and shook gently. Shaking his head, it was touching.
Mitchell sat on the sidelines and shook his head gently
This season, the Jazz seemed to have been frustrated and lost the determination and courage to start over. Mitchell has not scored 40+ points in the entire season. In the regular season, Inge Ernst's reimbursement severely damaged the team, forcing the management to implement a trade and send away this veteran who had been playing for many years. Without the glue of Ingles, the Jazz's various problems were revealed, and Mitchell was exposed. He plays alone, does not pass the ball, and is even labeled as a ball tyrant. His passes to Gobert only have two effects throughout the season, which are not as many as Trae Young's assists to Capela. There are also rumors of conflicts between the two. Although the two sides continued to deny the rumors, it was a sure thing that their cooperative performance on the field needed to be improved. As expected, the Jazz was eliminated in the first round by the Mavericks, who lacked Doncic for two games, and the season ended hastily. , this time is different from the previous two times. After the game, Mitchell seemed to have compromised the reality, but reluctantly agreed with his opponents. The former number one in the league is now on the verge of dismantling the team.
Today, Quin Snyder, the meritorious coach who has coached the team for eight years and Mitchell's mentor, also took the initiative to resign. Even though the Ryans tried their best to retain him and offered the largest coaching contract in history, they could not stay. In the past eight years, Snyder has represented everything about Jazz basketball. The sudden departure seemed to fill the entire team with sadness. Mitchell expressed surprise and sadness at the departure of his mentor. And have no idea what that means. In any case, the Jazz have reached a fork in the road where they need to make a choice. They need and must learn to part ways with some people, such as their beloved coach Snyder and the players who may leave the team next.
Former Jazz coach Quin Snyder
There is news that the Jazz are determined to continue to build a team with Mitchell as the core. Mitchell is the only non-sale item. If so, they still face two choices.Gobert has been targeted by opponents in the playoffs for many years in a row, and his inability to defend has been infinitely amplified by opponents. If he does not make changes in his playing style, it will be very difficult for the Jazz to compete for the championship. They will not be able to Defeating teams with excellent small lineups like the 2018 Rockets and the current Clippers, Gobert is also a guarantee of a good record in the regular season. All the Jazz's defensive systems revolve around his strong frame protection ability. Without him There will be no one to clean up the poor perimeter defenders in their team in the regular season. The system of one big and four small will be broken over the years. Without Gobert, the Jazz may not get good results as easily in the regular season as before. Ranking, he and Mitchell are both the core of the team. Gobert ensures that the Jazz's lower limit will not be too low and can always remain competitive in the first or second round of the playoffs, while Mitchell It is the key to the Jazz's ceiling. Mitchell's height and vision are his unchangeable shortcomings, which prevent him from becoming a superstar and leading the team to the Western Conference Finals or even the Finals. Unless he finds other solutions in the future, it may Like O'Neal said, he will never become a superstar. Then again, the Jazz don't necessarily want to compete for the championship. There are so many teams in the league, and the goal of every team cannot be the championship. From being almost no one interested to now being a regular in the playoffs, they have completed Huge progress, maintaining the current lineup, maintaining the current record, buying tickets and playing in the playoffs is also an option. There are still many choices waiting for them, the choice of the coach, the direction of team building, Whether Gobert will be sent away and so on. Will this stubborn Utah Jazz continue their stubbornness and trade Gobert in exchange for a better championship environment without the lower limit guarantee? Will they keep the original lineup and choose to make money steadily, or will they believe that the two stars will achieve unprecedented success? Great progress, continue to target the championship? Let us continue to look forward to management's next decision.
Gobert won the Defensive Player of the Year award
Mitchell’s current experience with the Jazz is like the lives of most of us ordinary people. We don’t have particularly outstanding talents or attention, but we still work hard for the goal and are full of enthusiasm. There are ups and downs, including disappointments and compromises, but as Romain Rolland said: "There is only one true heroism in the world, and that is to recognize the truth of life and still love it." We are looking forward to Mitch. I can become a real superstar one day, and I also pay tribute to the stubbornness of this Jazz team. At this fork in the road, how will they, Mitchell and Gobert, who have parted ways with Snyder, choose? However, it seems that this "Utah Jazz-style stubbornness" that has been passed down for many years will not disappear so easily.
Life is like a journey, and this Jazz team is also a journey.
