Weekly Run newsletter: The rookie of the year debate pitting the Sixers’ Ben Simmons and Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell is getting furious. But could they tie?

If you just listen to the noise, you’ll hear two things: Ben Simmons can’t shoot, and Donovan Mitchell shoots too much.

The Rookie of the Year race has become mean-spirited, at least between the Jazz and 76ers fan bases on social media. As Mitchell and Simmons become more even adversaries in the final vote, there’s been a lot of stone-throwing.

Most Utah fans know the case for Mitchell: He’s leading all rookies (and the Jazz) in scoring by quite a long shot, averaging 20.3 points compared to second-place Kyle Kuzma at 15.9. He has particularly increased his offensive role as the season has gone on, and he’s chasing the rookie 3-pointers record (just 16 behind Damian Lillard). He’s a highlight reel waiting to happen, a dunk contest champion and he’s one of the top 10 scorers in “clutch” situations in the league.

Simmons’ stats speak for themselves on many fronts. He’s averaging 15.8 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists per game for the playoff-bound Sixers. Here’s a list of players who have done that: Oscar, Wilt, Magic, Michael, LeBron, The Beard and Russ. That’s a pretty good list. He’s managed to be an offensive threat despite having limited range, and his defense is highly touted by advanced analytics.

Given the historic nature of his numbers and his wire-to-wire strong performances, it still might be tough to give Mitchell the edge over Simmons. But it’s worth noting that in the history of the Rookie of the Year award, there have been three ties. Could this be a year where that happens? Let’s take a quick look at the case-by-case basis.

1970-71 • Geoff Petrie, Trail Blazers and Dave Cowens, Celtics. Petrie was a scoring phenom for the expansion Portland team, averaging 24.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists. Cowens had a monster season in the post for Boston, averaging 17 points and 15 rebounds. Interestingly though Cowens was five inches taller, Petrie shot at a higher percentage (44.3 to 42.2).

1994-95 • Jason Kidd, Mavericks and Grant Hill, Pistons. Perhaps somewhat close to our current case: Hill was more of a scorer and Kidd was more of a do-it-all guy. But even Hill could stuff the stat sheet in other areas, finishing with 6.4 rebounds and 5 assists per game to go with his 19.9 ppg. Kidd averaged 7.7 assists and the Mavericks won 36 games that year to Detroit’s 28.

1999-2000 • Elton Brand, Bulls and Steve Francis, Rockets. Another case of a great post player against a great guard. Brand averaged a 20-and-10 double-double as a rookie. Francis was electric in the Mitchell mold, but also averaged 5.8 rebounds and 6.6 assists.

It’s interesting that two of the three ties were between post players and guards. Simmons and Mitchell won’t really have that luxury — both are guards, even though Simmons has the size of a power forward. The debate may come down to a player who gives incredible production in many areas versus a player who can score, excite and close down the stretch of games. But while it lasts, let’s all just try to enjoy it, yeah?

Here’s the rundown of Jazz coverage (there’s a lot) from the last week:

STARTING FIVE

1. Let’s kick things off with an important column from Tony, highlighting Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive’s response to a community wracked by a traumatic event and how it cuts against the grain from what we’ve seen in the NFL. [Trib]

2. I heard that Donovan Mitchell was pursuing his college degree this offseason, and I wanted to know why. From that spun a tale of a mother who pushed her son in the classroom and didn’t allow him to slack off. That’s played a huge role in making Mitchell the quick-adapting rookie he’s been for the Jazz. [Trib]

3. What would the Jazz have been if Gordon Hayward had returned? In a way, did he leave the door open for Mitchell to have the spellbinding rookie season he’s had? Tony tried tackling these obviously thorny and emotional questions. [Trib]

4. Jonas Jerebko isn’t just invested in professional basketball. Eric Woodyard took a look at the Jazz forward’s professional video game team (he’s a majority investor) that’s housed up in Michigan and visited the house where the players all live. [DNews]

5. Marc Spears revisited the bond between Mitchell and former Jazzman Darell Griffith, including some details on the dunk contest tribute, their relationship through Louisville’s troubles, and if Mitchell can become the second Jazzman to win Rookie of the Year. [The Undefeated]

LISTEN IN

We are recording a new podcast later this week to accommodate schedules, but you can always check out our other episodes on iTunes or SoundCloud — interviews like ours with Dante Exum are evergreen.

IN THE ROTATION

• Dante Exum had a big game against the Warriors, albeit the Warriors without any of their All Stars. We took a look at how he’s starting to boost the bench and blend back into the locker room. [Trib]

• Gordon Monson wrote a column about Gordon Hayward. You probably heard about it. [Trib]

• A companion piece to the one about Donovan’s degree: The NBPA has resources for players to chase their education, even if many players aren’t yet aware. [Trib]

• Andy Larsen had a piece examining Jae Crowder’s versatility and why his multiple roles are his biggest strength for the Jazz. [KSL.com]

• Also from Eric Woodyard: A look at how Jonas Jerebko and Crowder are not just teammates — they’re also neighbors. [DNews]

• Yahoo’s Chris Mannix wrote a column on just how much Donovan Mitchell has made the Rookie of the Year race interesting and tried to clear up some misconceptions. He also had a long podcast with Donovan that you might want to check out. [Yahoo]

• Sam Amick also did an interview with Donovan Mitchell for his podcast (a bit shorter) and he and Jeff Zillgitt talked about Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year. [USA Today]

• Tim Cato had a chat with Rudy Gobert and looked into the numbers about his case for Defensive Player of the Year. [SB Nation]

• Tim Bontemps also looked at Rudy Gobert, but asking a different question: Is he a top-10 player in the NBA? [Washington Post]

• This is a subscription piece (it’s going around, folks) but this is a worthwhile look by Ben Falk over at Cleaning The Glass on how the Jazz have made Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors work after many spent the early season declaring it a dead pairing. [CTG]

• Great question by Ben Golliver: If the NBA fines players millions of dollars every year, where the heck does all that money go. He’s got answers. [SI]

EYE ON SOCIAL

After Mitchell rebounded a miss off a Joe Ingles lay-up attempt and dunked a huge windmill (that didn’t actually count) against Golden State, social media took notice … and so did Ingles:

QUOTABLE

Jae Crowder talked about his love of watching NBA games in his spare time. It’s not just about enjoying a game or two, it’s also homework:

“You never know who your opponent is — I watch a lot of West Coast games, obviously — for the playoffs. So I’m just watching tendencies in players. You’d be amazed at how you can watch other games and learn tendencies of other players, then come across the scouting report from the coaches and you already know. It’s already in your head because you watched NBA basketball. That’s why. I watch it as a film-type deal, and I watch it as a fan, too. But mostly as a film prep.”

ODDS TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS?

The Nuggets and the Clippers are running out of time, and the Jazz are looking solid:

FiveThirtyEight • 95 percent (fifth-best in the West)

Basketball Reference • 94.1 percent (sixth)

ESPN BPI • 92.3 percent (seventh)

UP NEXT

Big game tonight — the Jazz take on Eastern power Boston at Vivint Smart Home Arena. But much of the schedule is friendly from here on out: There’s a Friday date with Memphis, a Sunday visit to the Timberwolves (who lost to Memphis on Monday, yeesh) and returning back home for the Lakers. Utah could theoretically cinch up the playoffs in the next week alone.