Toronto • Before Tuesday’s game against the Raptors at Scotiabank Arena, Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell had the Knicks and Timberwolves on his mind, to a degree.
First off, he cautioned against getting too confident after beating New York by 32 points.
“I think the biggest thing for us is not getting complacent after a big win,” he said. “We’ve had that tendency sometimes.”
He was especially cognizant of avoiding that considering the Raptors have been without two starters — point guard Kyle Lowry and center Jonas Valaciunas — due to injury. Mitchell referred to the team’s 128-125 loss to Minnesota back on OCt. 31 — another game this season where the opponent was without some key players, which didn’t wind up being a positive for the Jazz.
“The Wolves were missing Jimmy Butler that game, and [Derrick] Rose had 50 [points],” he recalled of the Wolves' victory. “If we were to feel that way, it would be unacceptable, because we’ve been in this situation before. We’ve been at that point where we let up — I shouldn’t say let up; we didn’t come out like we should have. … So if we come out that way, that’s the wrong mindset. I don’t think we’ll have that mindset tonight.”
Being effusive about getting defensive
Toronto won the teams’ first matchup, 124-111, back on Nov. 5 at Vivint Smart Home Arena — a game, Jazz coach Quin Snyder noted Tuesday, in which the Raptors “had their way with us … at a number of positions.”
Raptors coach Nick Nurse, though, wasn’t expecting a similar type of game this time around, though. The reason? The improvement he’s seen in the Jazz’s defense.
“They’re kinda doing the same thing they did last year, getting their groove going on here. This part of the season, they just started playing a lot better defensively again. That’s who they are, and they know that’s who they are, obviously,” Nurse said. “… They do a lot of interesting things, especially defensively. They’re big at the rim, obviously — they know how to use Rudy at the rim. They get their hands on a lot of balls and create opportunities for some of them to go the other way. It’s a very good team.”
Louisville love
Hanging in Mitchell’s locker before the game was a Baltimore Ravens No. 8 replica jersey. It’s the number worn by rookie quarterback and fellow Louisville product Lamar Jackson.
Mitchell said he reached out to his former classmate on Monday to congratulate him on leading the Ravens to an NFL playoff berth.
“People said a lot things, they said he shouldn’t be a quarterback, and for him to prove everybody wrong, go 6-1, make the playoffs, is so heart-warming, Mitchell said. “It’s a kid I went to class with, who I’ve known — it’s special for me to see that in him that he’s doing it in his own way.”
