Oklahoma City • Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell participated in some segments of practice Tuesday and remains listed as questionable for Wednesday’s Game 2 of the team’s playoff series vs. Oklahoma City.
Mitchell is expected to play, judging by his activity in the post-practice shooting portion open to the media. Even a “questionable” label is a more favorable injury report than the Jazz’s condition going into Game 2 against the Los Angeles Clippers last April. The tradeoff is in that case, the Jazz had won Game 1. They lost center Rudy Gobert to a knee injury in the first 10 seconds of the opener vs. the Clippers and he missed the next two games, both defeats.
The Jazz lost 99-91 to the Clippers in Game 2 before winning the series in seven games.
With a small sample size, the Jazz have mixed results in Game 2 on the road in first-round series in this decade. They overcame an injury to center Mehmet Okur to beat Denver 114-111 in 2010, but were pounded 114-83 by San Antonio in 2012. The Spurs swept that series.
Rudy at the rim
Gobert’s defensive impact was limited in Game 1, mainly because the Thunder’s Paul George hit 8 of 11 shots from 3-point range and Oklahoma City went 14 of 29 as a team in a 116-108 win.
Statistically, Gobert and Thunder center Steven Adams played about evenly. Gobert posted 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots; Adams had 12 points, seven boards and three assists.
The two 7-footers worked out against each other with two teams (not including the Jazz or Thunder) in advance of the 2013 NBA draft. Adams, from the University of Pittsburgh, went No. 12 to Oklahoma City; the Jazz took Gobert at No. 27 via a trade with Denver.
“We’ve been playing against each other for a while,” Gobert said. “He’s gotten a lot better offensively, as we all did. … They do a good job developing players.”
Thunder’s George, Brewer still nursing injuries
George said he suffered his hip contusion in the second quarter of Game 1. He drove at Gobert. He missed the shot and fell on his left hip. He left the game shortly after.
George wasn’t made available to the media on Tuesday. He was limping after Game 1 and didn’t score in the fourth quarter on Sunday. Corey Brewer went through portions of practice. He is nursing a sprained right knee, but he is expected to be available for Game 2.
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