NBA: 5 players on underdog playoff teams that need to step up

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NBA Utah Jazz Donovan Mitchell (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

2. Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz

Another clear choice for an underdog that needs to perform in the first round is Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell.

Mitchell is another guy who is coming into the playoffs having a career-best season in every statistical category and was rewarded for it by being named to the NBA All-Star team for the first time.

For his 2019-20 season, Mitchell is averaging 24.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game on excellent 45-37-86 shooting splits and posting a PER of 18.8.

Mitchell is an absolute playmaker on the offensive end as well. And will have a little bit of added burden to bear in these playoffs as the 6 seed Jazz take on the 3 seed Denver Nuggets, with no Bojan Bogdanovic for the extent of the playoffs and no Mike Conley for the time being, as he left the bubble for the birth of his son.

So the along with being a scorer and all-around shot-creator, the role of the facilitator is going to be placed on Mitchell as well, at least until Conley is able to return. This is something Mitchell definitely has the ability to do. His playmaking ability allows him to drive and kick to guys like Joe Ingles and Royce O’Neale who are 40 percent and 38 percent, 3-point shooters, respectively.

This will be important for Utah because Mitchell will garner a lot of attention from defenses. Mitchell is another guy who is a very high usage guy (usage rating of 30.3%, 13th in the league). If he is not able to get himself going due to double teams or whatever the case may be, it is important he is able to get looks for other guys.

He is also going to have to be on his “A” game defensively. He will likely be responsible for guarding Jamal Murray, who is someone who can fill it up on offense as well, coming into the playoffs averaging 19 points per game on 46-35-88 shooting splits.

If the underdog Jazz wants to be competitive in this series they are going to need Mitchell to be the best player on the floor whenever he is out there. Something he is certainly capable of doing, but it will be a test for him.

Note: As I am writing this Mitchell just capped off a 57 point performance in a losing effort in overtime, good for the third-most points in a single game in the playoffs. A tough result for Utah, but Mitchell showed that with just a little bit of help, he can be the guy in the playoffs.