Who Steps Up For Utah With Mitchell Out? | Utah Jazz

It’s been a crazy ride for the NBA the past few years. 

The leagues have seen nearly everything from a COVID-19 bubble to a compacted and shortened season. 

But this year, with teams attempting to get to a new sense of normalcy, the challenges presented have been vastly different. With the new COVID-19 variant wreaking havoc on the league and sending teams scrambling to fill rosters, the Utah Jazz have been relatively lucky thus far. 

Now that’s about to change, but not because of the new Omicron variant. The injury bug has officially hit the team as Donovan Mitchell — an MVP frontrunner — did not travel with the team for their two-game road trip. 

Dealing with a lower left back strain suffered in the first quarter of Saturday’s victory over the Dallas Mavericks, Mitchell’s timeline to return is unknown. You can imagine Utah will be cautious with him, already having said multiple times that the team will prioritize health this season to make a deeper postseason run.

The Jazz play their first game without Mitchell on Monday night, facing the San Antonio Spurs in Texas. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. MST.

Utah Jazz injury report:

OUT – Udoka Azubuike (right ankle sprain)

OUT – Malik Fitts (right shoulder sprain)

OUT – Donovan Mitchell (left low back strain)

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 26, 2021

Life without Mitchell, albeit for just two games at the moment, is something the Jazz are exceptionally well equipped for. They spent time in the offseason improving their bench to become deeper and more versatile. 

Hassan Whiteside has been sensational in limited minutes as Rudy Gobert’s backup, while Rudy Gay has been invaluable as a play-making forward or small-ball center. Eric Paschall has given the team energy and physicality whenever he’s been called upon.

That list doesn’t include the expanded play of reigning sixth man of the year Jordan Clarkson, making a positive difference on either of the court nearly every game. The runner-up to the award, Joe Ingles, is widely expected to step into the starting role as a sharp-shooting, play-making guard to play off starting backcourt mate Mike Conley. 

The Jazz must find a way to replace Mitchell’s 25.4 points per game with him out. While that won’t all fall on Ingles, an uptick in his shooting numbers is expected from a volume perspective. Also, look for Clarkson, who has no issue taking more shots, and Conley to be relied upon.

But much of the scoring pressure will fall on Bojan Bogdanovic and Gobert, two players who have been particularly impressive this season. 

Bogdanovic is finding his rhythm after dealing with injuries the last two seasons. He’s averaging 17.4 points per game this year, but has been even better the past two weeks when he’s putting up 20 points per game on a 56/57/75 shooting split.

Gobert has been even better but in a vastly different way. He’s averaging 15.4 points and 14.9 rebounds, which ranks tops in the league. His offensive game has taken the next step forward as he’s become a play-maker of sorts — while he’s still as dominant as ever on the defensive side of the ball. 

The Jazz will need everyone to step up against a San Antonio squad that came into Vivint Arena 10 days ago and put an end to their season-high eight-game winning streak. 

The has arrived!

The Fan Pass provides you access to tickets for three or more Jazz games a month! Plus, you’ll have access to select arena concerts and events.
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— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 27, 2021

STATS
Utah (23-9, 10-3 away / No. 3 Western Conference)
Offense
*116.0 Points Per Game (No. 1 in NBA)
*117.1 Offensive Rating (No. 1 in NBA)

Defense
*105.7 Points Per Game (No. 7 in NBA)
*106.9 Defensive Rating (No. 7 in NBA)

*Rudy Gobert: 15.4 points / 14.9 rebounds / 2.3 blocks / 71.3% shooting 
*Bojan Bogdanovic: 17.4 points / 3.7 rebounds / 43.7% 3P-territory
*Mike Conley: 14.1 points / 5.4 assists / 44.3% 3P-territory
*Jordan Clarkson: 14.4 points / 3.4 rebounds / 2.3 assists / 25.1 minutes

San Antonio Spurs (14-18, 7-9 away / No. 10 Western Conference)
Offense
*111.8 Points Per Game (No. 3 in NBA)
*111.0 Offensive Rating (No. 6 in NBA)

Defense
*109.8 Points Per Game (No. 23 in NBA)
*108.9 Defensive Rating (No. 16 in NBA)

*Dejounte Murray: 17.8 points / 8.8 assists / 8.4 rebounds / 2.0 steals
*Keldon Johnson: 15.4 points / 6.6 rebounds / 47.6% 3P-territory
*Derrick White: 14.1 points / 5.2 assists / 3.7 rebounds
*Jakob Poetl: 12.1 points / 8.3 rebounds / 1.5 blocks

MATCHUP TO WATCH
*Rudy Gobert vs. Jakob Poetl
— With Mitchell out, Gobert must find a way to become even more of an offensive presence. Whether than be from a pure scoring standpoint, crashing the offensive rebounds, kicking the ball out to open shooters or setting hard screens, his play will be instrumental if the Jazz want to avenge the loss from 10 days ago. Poetl, a former Utah basketball player, held his own against Gobert in the previous meeting and will need to do so again to give the Spurs a chance. 

CAREER MILESTONES TO WATCH
*Rudy Gobert — 1,293 blocks / Tied for 50th in NBA history 

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Time: 6:30 p.m. MST
Location: AT&T Center / San Antonio, TX
TV: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: 1280 The Zone