Rick Bowmer, AP
SALT LAKE CITY — When he first joined the Jazz last year, Donovan Mitchell talked all about defense, how important it was to him and how he planned to make his mark in the NBA by becoming a top defender.
Then his spectacular season happened as Mitchell turned out to be an unexpected superb offensive player, leading the Jazz, and all NBA rookies, with a 20.5 scoring average. Hardly a word was spoken about Mitchell and defense the rest of the season.
When the topic of his defense was brought up earlier this week, the reporter could hardly finish his question, before Mitchell bluntly said, “I was terrible last year.