Donovan Mitchell Says Jazz Won't 'Lay Over'; Uses Cavs-Warriors as Inspiration
The Utah Jazz find themselves on the brink of elimination after falling down 3-0 in their series against the Houston Rockets with Saturday's 104-101 loss.
But star guard Donovan Mitchell isn't giving up hope just yet, per Ben Golliver of the Washington Post:
He also referenced the Cleveland Cavaliers overcoming a 3-1 deficit against the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals as inspiration for a potential Utah recovery:
Mitchell scored 34 points in Saturday's loss, but he did so inefficiently, shooting just 9-of-27 from the field.
"That's just my role, and I can't miss that many shots," he said after the game, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. "I've got to be able to hit those, and we've got to capitalize."
While Mitchell has averaged 21.3 points and 2.0 steals per game during the series, he's shot just 32.8 percent from the field, 29.6 percent from three and 63.6 percent from the charity stripe. If Utah is going to pull off the improbable comeback, all of those numbers will need to improve significantly.
But history suggests the Jazz won't be able to recover. According to J. Michael of USA Today, "NBA and ABA teams are 0-146 all-time" when trailing 3-0 in a playoff series. Even Mitchell dramatically improving his efficiency likely won't be enough to overcome those odds.
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