Predicting Donovan Mitchell's Night in Revenge Match vs. Jazz
The media will posture Monday night's contest between the Utah Jazz and Cleveland Cavaliers as a regular season game. Executives and personnel from both teams will likely try to downplay the obvious.
The reality is, Donovan Mitchell will view this opportunity as fuel for revenge against Jazz executive Danny Ainge and the Jazz organization, who purportedly traded him against his will.
Based on reporting at the time, Mitchell remained consistent with his views that he did not want the Jazz to trade him. Also, there were rumors about Mitchell's close relationship with former Jazzman Royce O'Neale, who happened to be the first player traded from Utah's roster before this NBA season.
Although former Jazz great Rudy Gobert was dealt to the Minnesota Timberwolves prior to the Mitchell trade to Cleveland, I wrote that the O'Neale trade was the beginning of the end for Mitchell's reign in a Jazz uniform.
Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton made their arrivals to the 801 as part of the Mitchell trade, and both teams are reaping great rewards from the transaction. Many players can be affected by trades in professional sports, but Monday night will be about Mitchell.
On December 6, 2022, the Los Angeles Lakers visited the Cavs, which featured a match-up between LeBron James and Mitchell. 'King James' was returning home to face a new kid in his hometown. Mitchell exploded for 43 points as the Cavs prevailed 116-102 over the Lakers.
Look for Mitchell to be as aggressive as ever and push to score a career-high against the team that drafted him. His current career high is 46 points.
Markkanen will be will ready to perform, but the Cavs were not the team the originally him. Sexton's presence would be interesting because he has been ruled out of tonight's game.
Mitchell is, without question, the greatest shooting guard in Jazz history, and he will be on a heater on Monday night. It'll also serve as a litmus test of sorts for the Jazz front office's tectonic offseason moves that generated one blockbuster headline after another.
Buckle up, Jazz Nation, and prepare for the 'Spida' revenge-game explosion.
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