Jazz Excited For Game Two After Tumultuous Weekend

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Jazz have had a less than ideal start to their playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies, but now they’ve shifted their attention toward game two.

After earning the top seed in the NBA and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, the Jazz weekend was undone by the fumbled return of Donovan Mitchell, a game one loss, and a perceived rift between the franchise and their young star.

However, with the loss behind them, and Mitchell on his way back into the lineup, the Jazz are ready to ready to return to the court on Wednesday night.

Mishandling Of Mitchell’s Injury Report

While a clear timeline has emerged on Mitchell’s availability turned unavailability over the weekend has emerged, what caused the winds to shift so sharply remains a mystery.

After returning to practice on Thursday, the All-Star guard’s name was nowhere to be bound on the team’s injury report Saturday night. By Sunday morning, Mitchell had gone through shootaround with the team and declared himself pain-free and ready for game one.

Just hours later, the Jazz declared that Mitchell would miss game one with the ankle injury, despite suffering no setbacks during his weeklong return to the floor.

Donovan Mitchell will miss game one between the @utahjazz and @memgrizz in a stunning afternoon change. #TakeNote https://t.co/3fX6NnaKtE

— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) May 23, 2021

Sometime after shootaround, Mitchell underwent additional testing on his ankle and the team’s training staff determined he wasn’t ready to return to the floor.

After a series of cryptic social media posts on Sunday night, Mitchell was back at practice with the Jazz on Monday morning, and the guard upgraded to available for game two.

The mistake made was obvious. On Saturday, the team announced Mitchell would play with no doubts about his availability.

By Sunday afternoon, that decision had changed completely, while Mitchell seemed to have no say in the matter. On Monday morning, the decision had once again reversed, with Mitchell back in the lineup underlined by a new sense of certainty, undercut by the All-Star guard’s clear frustration.

Sorry y’all… I wish I could say more…. I’ll be out there soon !❤️🙏🏾

— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) May 24, 2021

Was there a miscommunication about Mitchell’s availability between his own training staff and the team’s? Is Mitchell rushing back on his ankle before the team is comfortable having him on the floor? Should the guard’s status have been listed as questionable on Saturday night?

Those are all questions the team will have to answer, but for now, the team is ready to return to the floor.

Jazz Looking Forward To Game Two

The Jazz entered the week with a sense of optimism, having earned the top seed despite playing without Mitchell for the final 16 games of the regular season. Then, seemingly miraculously, they avoided both the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors in the first round of the playoffs and drew the less experienced Memphis Grizzlies.

Even better, Mitchell was set to return, while the team was coming off a week’s rest, and the Grizzlies were heading into game one on a short turnaround, with little time to scout their opponent, after playing two brutally tough play-in games over the previous five days.

Instead, Mitchell failed to return, the Grizzlies erased the Jazz home-court advantage, and a dramatic undercurrent had changed the narrative of the postseason.

“It’s been an up and down 36 hours,” Jazz guard Mike Conley said. “There’s been a lot going on not having Donovan there and losing.”

Asked if there was any chance he'd miss game two between the @utahjazz and the @memgrizz, Donovan Mitchell had a clear answer.

"No."#takenote https://t.co/gvccvOhCV4

— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) May 24, 2021

However, with concerns that the Jazz were once again embroiled by behind-the-scenes drama for the second consecutive season, a surprise gift fell in the team’s lap, helping to repair the narrative ahead of game two.

Guard Jordan Clarkson was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year, with the award presented to him by fellow teammate and Sixth Man finalist Joe Ingles. Video of Ingles surprisingly Clarkson with the award quickly went viral and seemed to recharge the franchise with positive momentum.

“To see a guy who’s so deserving of an award in JC and even Joe being the one to present it to him, it just says a lot about who we are as a team and how close we are and how excited we are for each other,” Conley said.

Jordan Clarkson has been named the Sixth Man of the Year Award winner!

He's the first @utahjazz player to earn the award. #takenote https://t.co/SHeFOfx8QM

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) May 24, 2021

In addition to helping shift the conversation away from Mitchell’s injury, it might help put Clarkson at ease after a miserable game one performance.

“We’ll go into game two probably a bit more relaxed,” reserve center Derrick Favors said. “The situation with Donovan, I’m pretty sure JC had the award thing on his mind, just a lot going. So I think going into game two, everybody will be a little bit more clear-headed.”

After 94 consecutive games with a made three, Clarkson went 0-8 from the three-point line, while scoring just 14 points as the Jazz had their second-worst shooting performance of the season.

Despite all of the problems the team faced after the events of Saturday and Sunday, the guard’s Sixth Man honors seemed to right the Jazz’s ship.

Joe Ingles hands Jordan Clarkson the #KiaSixth Man of the Year trophy 🎶 pic.twitter.com/pamxUATDqb

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 24, 2021

“We’ve been through adversity before and this is another test of adversity. Even with the positivity that comes from JC’s award and getting Donovan back, there are so many good things that are happening, but we took a loss in game one,” Conley said.

“How do we handle the adversity of all of a sudden being down in series against a team that is playing really great basketball? We’re excited, we’re ready to get back out there and look forward to game two.”

The Jazz and Grizzlies will tip-off at 8 pm MT Wednesday night. The game will be broadcast on AT&T SportsNet and TNT.