Utah has gone 7-4 with Donovan Mitchell out of the lineup — including winning their last four — as he recovers from an ugly-looking ankle sprain.
The Jazz will be without their All-Star guard for at least one more week, the team announced Friday.
Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell was re-evaluated by the team’s medical staff today for a sprained ankle he sustained vs. Indiana on April 16.
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) May 7, 2021
He continues to make progress towards a return and will be re-evaluated in one week.
That means he could return for the final couple of regular season games, if cleared, but it is more likely he sits out the rest of the regular season and returns for the playoffs. The Jazz are fighting for the top seed in the West — they currently are one game ahead of the Suns — but either way they will avoid the play-in tournament, which means basically a week off between the end of the regular season and their first playoff game. That gives the Jazz time to work Mitchell back in practices, Quin Snyder said.
Quin Snyder said that Donovan Mitchell is "coming along and working hard, doing everything he can to get back." Seemed to indicate he was not too worried about Donovan losing his timing, or the chemistry with teammates being rusty.
— Eric Walden (@tribjazz) May 7, 2021
Quin added that "you try to see the positives" of the situation, noting that with the play-in tourney, that gives Donovan some wiggle room to get re-acclimated: "There's a little larger window, so you can get some of that in a practice setting."
— Eric Walden (@tribjazz) May 7, 2021
Mitchell played his best basketball of the season right before turning his ankle, averaging 36.8 points per game in the five games before the injury. Because of the team’s continuity and roster, working him back in should not be difficult, but Utah needs him at 100%.