Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell will be out for the team's last three games of the regular season as he continues to recover from an ankle injury.
The Jazz re-evaluated Mitchell's ankle sprain that he suffered last April, and while they confirmed he is recovering well, it will still rule him out for their final stretch of games. It remains to be seen if the recovery will extend to the playoffs, but that is very much a possibility.
The Jazz say Donovan Mitchell will sit out until the playoffs begin. https://t.co/nglRE7vzke
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 11, 2021
Donovan Mitchell has already missed the Jazz's last 13 games due to the injury. With that said, it means he would have been out for 16 games should he make a return at the start of the playoffs.
Such development certainly doesn't bode well with the team's playoff chances. While they are still atop the Western Conference standings with a 50-19 record, there's no doubt they need Mitchell at his best come playoff time. After all, there is a good chance they would face the Los Angeles Lakers or the Golden State Warriors in the first round of 2021 postseason.
Also, it is worth noting that it won't be easy for the Jazz guard to come back from a 16-game absence. It would have been ideal for the team to have him return early and get the rust out of his system before the playoffs where they can't afford any mistake. However, that is unlikely to happen now.
Without Mitchell, the Jazz went 8-5 so far. Nonetheless, the postseason is a different beast–Utah knows that very well after they blew a 3-1 lead in the 2020 playoffs.
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