Utah Jazz: Donovan Mitchell set to make a lot of people eat crow

Editorial — Utah Jazz and Team USA star Donovan Mitchell has curiously become a punching bag for some, but he’s about to flip the script.

Following their loss to Utah Jazz big man Rudy Gobert and France, Donovan Mitchell and USA Basketball find themselves in the consolation bracket at the FIBA World Cup. Now, instead of vying for a gold medal, they’re vying for a chance to play in fifth-place game

Fifth. Freaking. Place. And even that’s no certainty. 

Clearly, this isn’t what fans in the United States had in mind. If you’re among the Jazzland masses, though, you can still seek solace in Gobert and Joe Ingles (who helped Australia advance to the semifinals with a win over the Czech Republic). However, the Americans’ big L to Les Bleus on Wednesday hurts nonetheless.

Despite the setback, one thing you shouldn’t be fretting over is Mitchell’s future at the helm of the Jazz’s attack. Although the haters will tell you otherwise.

Throughout the tournament, Mitchell has been a frequent punching bag for a small, but vocal contingent of fans on social media. After USA’s quarter-final loss, they came out of the woodwork once more.

It’s a curious development considering Mitchell just registered one of the best games by anyone in the tournament to date — 29 points, 12-of-23 shooting, six boards, four dimes, two thefts and zero turnovers.

Here’s just a small sample of the analysis being offered —

In case you were unaware, this is totally my “Donovan Mitchell ’bout to take a leap after leading team USA” argument with some historical context.

Seriously, let us dispense with the notion that Mitchell is having a bad FIBA run. Per 36 minutes, he’s averaging 18 points, six rebounds and six assists and he has posted shooting splits of 46-35-100 heading into the US’ first consolation bout with Serbia; solid numbers all around.

Moreover, he’s Team USA’s plus/minus leader — opponents have been outscored by 14.8 points per game when Mitchell has been on the floor. I won’t even mention his 5.2/1 assist-to-turnover ratio; it’s too ridiculous to discuss.

He’s absolutely been a leader for the Americans, and had they allowed him to lead in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s game, they may still be in the hunt for a medal.

In many ways, Team USA’s performance feels like what went down in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, when a squad that was missing several top NBA talents got stuck with the bronze and ended 12 years of American dominance. And I expect Mitchell will respond to this setback as a young Dwyane Wade did then.

During that run, a 22-year-old Wade — the player Mitchell is probably most compared to these days — averaged 7.3 points per contest and shot 38 percent from the floor in his first action with the senior national team.

Also, he missed all three of the 3-point shots he attempted and logged more turnovers than assists. He legitimately did play at a level approaching bad.

So, how did D-Wade recover from his own FIBA disaster during the 2004-05 season? By averaging 24-7-5, getting his first All-Star nod and leading the Heat to a No. 1 seed and the Eastern Conference Finals, where it took the defending champion Detroit Pistons seven games to eliminate them.

Now, this is a Hall of Fame guy we’re talking about, but it just goes to show that the kind of hot takes about Mitchell’s own FIBA “failure” equating to an inability to reach an elite level (or even get better) as an NBA player are pretty unfounded.

Wade was bona fide before and after that tournament and the same applies to Mitchell now.

Over the final 42 games of the 2018-19 season — I’m no math whiz, but I think that’s more than half of the 82-game campaign — the Jazz guard put up 27 points and nearly five rebounds and five assists per game. Along the way, he shot 45 percent from the field and 41 percent from distance.

That fact remains unchanged in spite of Wednesday’s result and/or the trolls’ response to said result.

The fact of the matter is that Mitchell improved by leaps and bounds from year one to year two. And despite what’s happening with USA Basketball currently, it’s pretty clear to me that his trajectory is unchanged, particularly given the talent the Jazz have surrounded him with.

In other words, when he’s balling out with Mike Conley next season, I’ll be pretty shocked if he gets frozen out of fourth quarters in the same way he did by Kemba Walker and others in the US’ World Cup quarter-final defeat.

So, if you’re a Jazz fan out there on Twitter, ready to boil over because some dude from Philadelphia, Boston, Timbuktu or wherever says your guy sucks, don’t sweat it.

Donovan Mitchell is about to make those people eat some major crow.