Utah Jazz: Speculation exists that injury played role in Mitchell’s slow start

Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell has been incredible so far this month and there’s reason to believe that his slow start was merely a result of last postseason’s lingering injury.

Donovan Mitchell has been nothing short of amazing thus far in 2019. In the month of January, he’s averaging a whopping 28.3 points per game on 46.5 percent shooting from the field and 42.5 percent from deep. To go along with that, he’s putting up nearly five assists and 1.4 steals per game while notching a plus/minus of 9.5. Perhaps best of all, he’s led the Utah Jazz to a 9-3 record.

His recent surge has been monumental for his team, but it’s also been extremely reassuring to see him bounce back from what had initially been a slow start for Mitchell. Several fans, media members and, of course, detractors alike were expressing disappointment and hesitancy about Mitchell’s second season, going as far as to claim that he had fallen into a sophomore slump.

In many ways, those concerns were justified. Though Mitchell’s scoring volume was there, his efficiency was putrid. He dropped to just 18.2 points per contest on a dismal 38.1 percent shooting from the field in December, and shot a meager 24.4 percent from the 3-point line in the month of November.

However, he’s clearly back. And back in a big way. He’s put up 30 points or more in five of his last eight contests and has scored 24 or more in each of the last 10 games. If he’d played like this all season, he’d undoubtedly be a sure-fire All-Star.

But as much as his early season woes were a discouragement (and though they’re quickly becoming a thing of the past), recent reports seem to indicate that his slow start wasn’t exactly a surprise to the Utah Jazz organization. In a recent article from The Athletic’s Tony Jones he had the following to say about Mitchell’s slow play–

"Mitchell had issues shooting the ball in the first two months of the season, but sources tell The Athletic that the Jazz expected that. The toe that Mitchell hurt against the Houston Rockets in the second round last season lingered through the summer, preventing their star from working out during the offseason. So even through Mitchell’s struggles, the Jazz front office expected him to catch a rhythm at some point. Sure enough, January’s been Mitchell’s best month."

So there you have it. It’s quite likely that Mitchell’s lingering toe issue had a lot to do with his slow start. We knew he was in a boot early last summer and it was presumable that this would hinder his summer workout plans, and all signs point to that being the unfortunate reality.

However, on the flip side of that, if Mitchell was slowed due to the lack of ability to work out during the summer with the injury as appears to be the case, then all signs also point to a high probability that his recent surge isn’t just a temporary spurt. It’s very likely the real deal. And the Mitchell we all hoped we’d see in 2018-19 could very well be here to stay.

That’s great news for the Jazz who are fresh off a big-time win over the Denver Nuggets who have been one of the West’s elites so far this season. It’s even better news considering that Utah is tied in the standings with the San Antonio Spurs, just a game behind the fifth-place Houston Rockets and only 2.5 games behind the fourth-place Portland Trail Blazers and home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Mitchell has long been the catalyst of Utah’s offense and their most important figure on that end of the floor. Now that he’s found his rhythm and efficiency, he’s going to be all the more dangerous and elevate the entire team along with him. Factor in as well that the rest of Utah’s schedule is significantly easier than the first half of the year, and this team could be in for an impressive end-of-season run and a great deal of momentum heading into the postseason.

Don’t be surprised if before too long, the early slump of both Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz are little more than a distant memory.