Utah Jazz-PHX key matchup: Donovan Mitchell vs. Devin Booker

The Utah Jazz head south to take on the Phoenix Suns on Friday night, pitting rising stars Donovan Mitchell and Devin Booker against each other.

Since the return of Rudy Gobert, the Utah Jazz have begun playing like the team we thought they would be at the start of the season. They are starting to win games on the shoulders of an elite defense, by out-working the competition and using well-rounded offensive efforts.

The Jazz have won three games in a row, and five of their last seven. In that stretch, they have the league’s sixth best Defensive Rating, the 10th best Offensive Rating and they have a Net Rating of 5.8, which is good for fifth best in the NBA.

As obvious as this sounds, the Jazz are a different team with a healthy Gobert on the floor. If healthy for the whole season, Utah would likely be in the thick of the playoff race, and not trying to play catch-up.

They’ll have a good chance to continue that success and to win their fourth game in a row on Friday night, as they face off against the Phoenix Suns.

The Jazz cannot take the Suns lightly however. In their first matchup, all the way back on October 25, the Jazz came out with one of their worst performances of the year, and lost 97-88. TJ Warren was the one who torched the Jazz, finishing with 27 points on 12-of-19 shooting.

However, these teams are very different from the ones that took the court in that first matchup. The primary change for the Jazz has been the emergence of Rookie of the Year candidate Donovan Mitchell. In their first meeting, Mitchell played only 12 minutes and scored just two points. Since that game, Mitchell is boasting averages of 20.7 points, 3.5 assist, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.

He has taken the NBA by storm, has won back-to-back Rookie of the Month honors, and has entrenched himself as a lead candidate for Rookie of the Year.

Friday night, he will be matched up against another up and coming star in Devin Booker.

Booker’s rise to fame is actually much more similar to Mitchell than some might realize. Both were late risers up the draft board due to their impressive team workouts. Both were taken with the No. 13 pick in their respective drafts.

Both quickly made people realize that they made a mistake passing on them.

In just his second season, and at only 20 years old, Booker went off for 70 points against the Boston Celtics. Sure, his teammates were force-feeding him the ball, and Phoenix ultimately lost that game by 10; regardless — 70 points is 70 points.

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So far this season, he has continued to show his incredible scoring chops, and boast a more rounded game than most may think. He is much more than just a 3-point shooter. He will attack the basket and picks his spots. This season he is averaging 24.4 points, 4.8 assists and 4.4 rebounds.

As the primary scoring guards for both teams, I expect Mitchell and Booker to be matched up against one another for much of the game. The one clear-cut advantage that Mitchell has over Booker is his defensive focus and ability.

If Mitchell can take this matchup personally, and finish with 20-plus points for the 24th time this season, the Jazz will have an excellent chance at winning their fourth game in a row,