Korver Says Jazz Looking For Positives Ahead Of Game 4

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Following a tough loss in Game 3 to the Houston Rockets, Utah Jazz forward Kyle Korver’s praise of teammate Donovan Mitchell for his leadership and accountability became a viral video on social media.

Athletes and fans from all over the globe retweeted or quote-tweeted Korver’s postgame comments, commending both Korver for saying what he said and Mitchell for being the subject of such remarks.

However, after practice on Sunday, Korver admitted that he had a hard time going to bed on Saturday night and woke up tired the next morning.

The Jazz are down 0-3 in their first round series with the Houston Rockets and are facing elimination in Game 4 on Monday.

Looking For Positives

When asked about the mood at practice on Sunday, Korver took a long pause before responding.

“We got to find the positives, the season’s not over,” said Korver. “Obviously you don’t want to be down 0-3, history’s not on our side. But I think we saw some things in the film that we do better. Saw some things that we did well. And we have a home game in the playoffs tomorrow, that’s exciting. So gonna wrap your mind around that and get ready to go.”

He’s right about the history aspect. It’s been done in the National Hockey League four times and in Major League Baseball once, but never before in the National Basketball Association has a team ever come back to win a playoff series after losing the first three games.

5-10 years from now you won't remember Donovan Mitchell missing a wide open 3 late in Game 3 against the Rockets but you will remember what Kyle Korver said about Donovan after the loss. #TakeNote #TeamIsEverything #nbaplayoffs pic.twitter.com/hgUNb44vQN

— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) April 21, 2019

As for whether it’s possible to tune out the fact that his team is facing elimination and focus solely on Game 4, Korver answered with refreshing honesty.

“No it’s not possible, you’re down 3-0,” said Korver. “But what does that bring out of you, that’s the question. Does it bring out something good, does it bring out urgency? Or does it bring out something else? I would like to think we’re going to bring out something good. We’ll find out tomorrow.”

Kyle Korver's message about Donovan Mitchell was the main focus on the latest #jazznotes pod from @kslsports. @JJSportsBeat and I also delve into the next steps for Mitchell and the #utahjazzhttps://t.co/eARCKxQAoa pic.twitter.com/brnkXjymqq

— Cleon Wall (@kslcleon) April 21, 2019

Even though he’s still somewhat new to the Jazz core, having been re-acquired by Utah in a trade in November, Korver is confident in his teammate’s ability to leave it all out on the floor on Monday.

“For sure, I think that’s the makeup of this team. We got high character guys, guys that work, guys that like to play basketball,” said Korver.

Strength In Easter Significance

While he acknowledged that things aren’t ideal right now for the Jazz, Korver has found comfort in his religious faith and the significance of the Easter holiday.

“It’s beautiful, today’s Easter,” said Korver. “To those of us that it means something, it means that it’s all going to be okay. It doesn’t make basketball better in the moment but it puts everything in perspective. We’ll regroup, we’ll get our minds right tonight and tomorrow we’ll get ready to go.”

Game Info

Game 4 between Utah and Houston will be played Monday at 8:30 p.m. and be broadcast on TNT.