Utah Jazz star guard Donovan Mitchell missed the final 16 regular-season games due to an ankle sprain he suffered back in April 16 against the Indiana Pacers.
Leading up to their Game 1 outing against the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, the expectation was that Mitchell would be able to return.
Apparently, that’s not going to be the case. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Mitchell is not expected to play.
This is a major blow for a Jazz team that finished the regular season with the NBA’s best record at 52-20.
Donovan Mitchell and his ascension to superstardom was capped off during the regular year when the 24-year-old guard averaged career-highs in points (26.4), rebounds (4.4) and assists (5.2) while shooting 39% from three-point range.
With Mitchell out, Utah will have to rely on Sixth Man of the Year contenders Jordan Clarkson and Joe Ingles to pack a scoring punch against the upstart Grizzlies. Memphis heads into this matchup against the top seed after upsetting the Golden State Warriors on the road in the play-in tournament Friday evening.