Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers may not have evened their series against the Indiana Pacers last night. Still, his eighth 40-point playoff performance gave them hope while simultaneously making the Utah Jazz look bad.
Mitchell put up 43 points to help the Cavaliers pull out the blowout road victory, signaling that the Cavaliers are far from done. With that, his eighth 40-point performance gave him more than some of the NBA's best players both currently and of all-time.
This doesn't have anything directly to do with the Jazz, but Mitchell's continued success in Cleveland does expose them in two ways.
1. Mitchell could have been the Jazz's best playoff riser
No matter what Jazz fans may think of Mitchell, and they still think highly of him last we checked, his history with 40-point performances is better than any Jazzman has put up in franchise history. He has more than Karl Malone, John Stockton, Pete Maravich, Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, Gordon Hayward, etc.
When the Jazz traded him, he still had three years left on his deal at the very least. Even if Mitchell had been done with Utah in 2022, he still would have given it his all if they had kept him anyway. Granted, the Jazz would have traded Rudy Gobert anyway to keep Mitchell happy, but Mitchell has proven that the lights aren't too bright for him in the postseason for several years now.
His playoff explosions didn't come right away in Utah, but Mitchell has evolved into one of the best playoff performers in the NBA, and the Jazz could have reaped the rewards.
2. His individual success makes the Jazz's extensive playoff success look bad
The Jazz have a good reputation for consistently making the playoffs. They have their occasional droughts, and they're in the midst of one, but for a team with the small market disadvantage, the Jazz have an impressive reputation on that front. However, Mitchell thriving as much as he has makes their playoff history as a franchise overall look bad in a way.
It's already not the best look that the Jazz made the playoffs from 1983 to 2003, and only made the NBA Finals twice in that span. The fact that they didn't have anyone who could score 40 points at the same consistency as Mitchell in such a high-stakes situation makes it look bad that the Jazz lacked exactly that during that period.
Granted, it was a different time then, as the NBA didn't have high-volume scoring in general, but a certified playoff riser like Mitchell makes the Jazz's lack of one look worse as having that kind of player archetype could have given them a title.
No one's saying the Jazz made the wrong move in what they got for the Cavaliers for Mitchell, but it's hard not to look at what Mitchell has done in the playoffs before and after his time in Utah and think they may have given up too soon.