When it comes to Utah Jazz rising star rookie shooting guard Donovan Mitchell, he will need all the help he can get against the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Semifinals. Luckily, Los Angeles Lakers legendary retired shooting guard Kobe Bryant has his back.
According to Jazz beat reporter Andy Larsen of KSL.com, Mitchell was flattered by Bryant putting him as the focus of the third episode of his new “Detail” series on ESPN. Bryant analyzed Mitchell's “good, but not great” Game 1 performance in Utah's 110-96 loss to the Houston Rockets.
“To have a guy like that analyze my game, and he was talking as if it was me, which is kind of cool,” Mitchell said. “But there were times where he was basically saying ‘that can’t happen, this can’t happen,' and I’m laughing because he’s right. They can’t push me off my spot.”
Larsen also said that Mitchell didn't actually grow up idolizing the Lakers legend like many of his other young colleagues, but he has learned to appreciate the type of player Bryant is.
“The coolest thing about that is that I wasn’t a Kobe fan growing up. I didn’t understand how much time and his presence and how hard he worked on his game,” Mitchell said. “Being in my first year in the league, he’s become one of my favorite players to watch.”
Heading into Wednesday night's contest, Mitchell was averaging a whopping 27.4 points per game in six contests.
Will the Jazz be able to pull off the upset tonight in Game 2 against the Rockets, or will Utah head back home to Salt Lake City with a 2-0 series deficit staring them in the face?
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