Utah Jazz: Donovan Mitchell a low-key top performer in Team USA scrimmage

Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell quietly registered one of the stronger performances at the USA Basketball Blue/White scrimmage in Las Vegas.

USA Basketball held its Blue/White scrimmage at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Friday night; a game that pitted members of the program’s Select Team against the group of Senior National Team players from which head coach Gregg Popovich will select his 2019 FIBA World Cup squad.

And while he didn’t lead his team in scoring or have any monster jams, Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell was one of the game’s low-key standouts.

Playing for the blue/national team side and wearing No. 53, Mitchell scored eight points (on 3-of-7 shooting), dished out a team-high four assists and added two boards and a steal in 17 minutes of action to help his team to a 97-78 win in the scrimmage.

Going beyond the numbers, Mitchell was cool and collected on the floor and was making a concerted effort to keep everyone involved and to run the offense from both backcourt spots. He rarely forced the issue with the ball, electing instead to let the game come to him and make the proper reads on and off the ball.

It was the kind of effort Coach Popovich likely had in mind when he said he was counting on Mitchell to be a leader on the floor and make his teammates better earlier this week.

Mitchell was also the face of the team off the floor, welcoming the fans to the game and thanking them for the support over the PA before tip-off and giving the halftime interview on the live broadcast.

Other standout performers included Jayson Tatum, who led all scorers with 17 points, Mitchell’s backcourt mate Kemba Walker, who added 14 with four assists to equal the Jazz guard and De’Aaron Fox, who finished with 12 points, three boards, three assists, three steals and two blocks.

After getting promoted to the national team from the select team during the week, Fox definitely made the most of his minutes on the floor. He was a step quicker than just about everybody else on the floor on both sides of the court. Fox has also been one of the stars of mini-camp overall.

However, he may have a tough time making the cut for the actual tournament in China if Kyle Lowry is able to suit up.

Mitchell and Walker both started for their squad and shared significant court time together during the scrimmage. Although Mitchell has spent a lot of time this week running point for Coach Pop, look for them to continue to share the floor and play off one another.

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As it stands, they’re probably the odds-on favorites to comprise America’s starting guardline, and their ability to mesh will be crucial to Team USA’s success once World Cup play tips off in just over three weeks.

Following the contest, Thaddeus Young and Bam Adebayo officially became Coach Pop’s first cuts. Meanwhile, Derrick White and Marvin Bagley III were promoted to the national team’s player pool.

USA Basketball’s training camp will now move from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. World Cup play tips-off on August 31; Team USA will play their first game one night later on September 1.