Utah Jazz: Top 8 most disappointing aspects of first-round loss to Houston

#5 A poor closeout game for Mitchell

After a slow start in Games 1 and 2, Donovan Mitchell bounced back in a big way in the subsequent two contests. He put up 34 points in a close Game 3, then was much more efficient in Game 4 with 31 points on 42.3 percent shooting from the field and 42.9 percent shooting from deep. He looked as if he’d turned a corner in the series and was ready to dominate the way the Jazz needed him to in order to come back from a 3-0 deficit.

Instead, things took a turn for the worst in Game 5 as he posted his worst game of the 2019 postseason. Donovan finished the bout with only 12 points on 4-of-22 shooting from the field and went 0-of-9 from the perimeter. Not only that, but he had just one assist and five turnovers while making several costly mistakes, particularly down the stretch, that decimated Utah’s chances.

I guess on the bright side, Mitchell’s poor showing should only serve as motivation and provide him with hunger to improve for next season. So perhaps there’s a small positive to be gleaned out of it. However, considering that he had looked so incredible the two games prior, watching him go out like that whilst his Jazz team fell just barely short was disappointing in heart-wrenching fashion.

When Utah needed its star the most, he failed to deliver. That certainly stood out as one of the biggest letdowns of the series.