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SALT LAKE CITY — Donovan Mitchell almost has last year’s series with the Houston Rockets memorized.
He could tell you when Chris Paul would drive into the lane and hit a midrange shot. He could tell you when James Harden stepped back into a 3-pointer, or when Clint Cappella would finish a lob for a thunderous dunk.
“The more I watched, the more I realized it wasn’t going to do me any good,” Mitchell said.
There won’t be many secrets this year between the Rockets and the Jazz as they meet in Game 1 of their first-round series Sunday.
Houston knows what Mitchell does. There might be some different parts this year, but the main players — Mitchell, Harden, Paul and Rudy Gobert — are all still around.”
“There’s differences, there’s more similarities,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “It’s just a question of us having the right mentality.”
That mentality might be the biggest difference for the Jazz as they enter this year's matchup.
It was a whirlwind year for the Jazz in 2017-18, especially for Mitchell. He was a young rookie that took the league completely by surprise. Everything came so fast that it was hard to process it all — the playoffs included.
But he is no longer a surprise rookie and the Jazz are no longer an upstart team defying expectations. It’s a squad that is looking to make a strong mark over the course of the coming weeks — and even months. And that's been the goal for some time.
“You don’t play this game just to play,” Mitchell said. “That’s my mindset at least. I play this game to win. … Why can’t we do that? Why can't we as a team get to that point?”
And Mitchell isn’t alone in his lofty goals entering the postseason.
“We are very confident,” Gobert said. “We know it’s not going to be easy, but we are confident that we can beat anybody in this league. There’s not a team that we are afraid of.”
So bring on the Rockets, a team with the reigning MVP and boasting the best record in the league since the All-Star break. And one that made quick work of the Jazz a year ago in the playoffs.
And with such a tough first-round opponent, not to mention a likely matchup with Golden State in the second round, it begs the question: Where is the Jazz’s confidence coming from?
They think they are a better team.
“Donovan is a better player than he was last year,” Gobert said. “I am a better player than I was last year. Jae (Crowder) is a better player than he was last year. We have the same group with a year of playing together and a year of going through a lot of things … I think we are better as a group.”
Since the All-Star break, Mitchell is averaging 26.7 points while shooting 46.1 percent and 45.1 percent from 3-point land. He is 10th in the league in scoring during that time, proving that he is becoming one of the elite scorers in the NBA.
He’s better than he was when the Jazz played the Rockets last year.
And he knows what to expect this year, too — both from the Rockets and the playoffs in general.
“It helps that we have played this team, what 13 times in two years,” Mitchell said. “I think our mentality is we understand what James (Harden) wants to do, what Chris (Paul) wants to do, who are the X-factors, what we have to do on offense. As far as that game plan, we are coming in with a little more poise and understanding.”
As well as plenty of confidence.
