Houston Rockets star James Harden believes “the sky’s the limit” for Utah Jazz shooting guard Donovan Mitchell.
Harden and the Rockets defeated Mitchell and the Jazz in the first round of the playoffs in five games, and it was a struggle for Mitchell.
The Jazz’s leading scorer averaged 21.4 points in the series, but shot just 32.1 percent from the field, 25.6 percent from beyond the arc and 72.7 percent from the free-throw line. Mitchell shot 4-of-22 in Game 5 and had five turnovers as well.
Harden, though, believes Mitchell will use this series as motivation to get better. After all, Mitchell is only 22 and just finished his second season in the NBA.
“First-round matchup, it’s tough playing against us,” said James Harden, whom Donovan Mitchell considers a mentor, via Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “He’s confident. You see what he did last game. He’s capable of taking over a game, and it’s only his second year.
“Once he gets them years under his belt and more comfortable — obviously, we know what his job is — but once he gets more comfortable in his role and he knows that he’s one of those guys, the sky’s the limit for him.”
During the regular season, Mitchell put up 23.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists while shooting 43.2 percent overall and 36.2 percent from the 3-point line. He led the Jazz to the fifth seed in the rugged Western Conference.
Rockets guard Eric Gordon played tremendous defense on Mitchell all series. The youngster will have to watch tape of the series all summer to learn what he could have done better against Gordon and the Rockets.
The post Rockets star James Harden says ‘the sky’s the limit’ for Donovan Mitchell appeared first on ClutchPoints.
