“Still in shock”: Jazz star Donovan Mitchell on losing to the Clippers after being up 2-0 in the semi-finals

Jazz star Donovan Mitchell reflects on his playoff exits over the past 2 years despite having the lead in the initial stages of the series.

There is no denying that Donovan, aka the spida, is one of the most promising upcoming talents in the NBA. The former dunk contest winner is described as Dwayne Wade 2.0.

The 2x NBA All-Star had one of the best seasons with Utah Jazz this year. The Jazz was the no. 1 seed in the NBA during the 2020-21 regular season.

The Jazz led the league with the most no of three-pointers made, with seven Jazz players making over 100 three-pointers.

Also read: “Hope Utah Jazz double-team Paul George”: How Ty Lue baited Donovan Mitchell and co into losing Game 5 on the defensive end

However, the Utah Jazz had a disappointing end to their post-season. Though Donovan played some of the best basketball of his career, the Jazz lost to the Clippers in the conference semi-finals. Despite being up 2-0 in the first 2 games.

The tragic post-season run of Donovan Mitchell

The Utah Jazz had a bitter end to an otherwise successful 2020-21 season. The Jazz was considered one of the top contenders in the west, especially after their round one performance against the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Jazz were the favorites heading into the semi-finals against the LA Clippers. The series began with a sensational 45-point performance by Donovan in a Game one win over the Clippers.

This was followed by a win in Game two as well. Donovan led the Jazz with a 37-point performance on an exceptional 50% shooting from the 3-point line.

However, the tide turned when matters shifted to the staples center, which would see the Clippers win the next four consecutive games.

This was a complete turnaround that surprised NBA fans around the world. The spida averaged 34.8PPG, 5.3 APG, and RPG on a 44.5% shooting from the field and 45% from the 3-point line during the series.

This wasn’t the first time that the Jazz had choked. During the first round in the 2020 Orlando Bubble, the Jazz blew a 3-1 lead against the Denver Nuggets that had Game seven go down till the wire.

However, Donovan had one of the best NBA playoff performances during that series. The spida had two 50+ point games joining the likes of Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson as the only players to score 50+ points twice in a series.

Also read: “Sure! This is what ‘Playoff P’ looks like”: Clippers star Paul George had yet another great performance in a big Game 5 win against Donovan Mitchell’s Jazz

Donovan had a difficult time expressing himself during the post-game interviews:” I don’t know what I’m going to be doing next week. Probably watching the games, mad as hell. This hurts more than last year. This is gonna eat at me for a long time.”