The Utah Jazz will have a major advantage against the Dallas Mavericks when these two teams face off in Game 1 of their first-round playoffs series. Mavs superstar Luka Doncic is dealing with a calf injury that will keep him out for the opening game of the series and possibly beyond that.

Jazz star Donovan Mitchell has now spoken out about Doncic's injury. The Jazz guard knows that Luka's loss is a huge blow for the Mavs, but Mitchell also warns about putting too much stock into this development:

“I think for us, we’re worried about ourselves and how we can be the best team possible in Game 1, Game 2 and all the way throughout the series,” Mitchell said, via Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. “If you start looking at, ‘Man, if he’s out we’ve got to win,’ I think you could lose the focus on what we’ve been preparing for all week.

“We’re just ready to go, whoever’s out there. At the end of the day you’ve got to respect your opponent. And those guys are talented with him, and talented without him.”

The Mavs are hoping that Doncic is able to return for Game 2 of the series, but this is anything but guaranteed at this point. For the Jazz, however, they just need to keep their eyes on the prize. As Mitchell said, Utah should have the same mindset whether or not Luka suits up or not.