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SALT LAKE CITY — In his poorly timed attempt to evaluate Donovan Mitchell's star status in the NBA, Shaquille O'Neal actually did the Utah Jazz a solid.
Somewhat shockingly, literally coming minutes after the fourth-year guard scored a season-high 36 points in the Jazz win over the New Orleans Pelicans, O'Neal claimed Mitchell doesn't "have what it takes to get to the next level." Wearing a headset listening to O'Neal as part of a postgame interview on TNT, Mitchell shrugged off the criticism.
Inadvertently, the former NBA legend helped bring the Jazz players even closer than they were and sharpened their focus. In their ensuing game against the Golden State Warriors, the Jazz started the easy win on a 14-0 run on the way to a 30-point lead at halftime.
Remember, this was a team apparently about to combust with its two all-stars feuding. Last spring, after the COVID outbreak caused the NBA to shut down, the relationship between Mitchell and Rudy Gobert was reported as possibly "unsalvageable."
Now, in part thanks to O'Neal and his "Inside the NBA" TNT cohorts Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley, the Jazz are united by a common enemy. Not that they necessarily need any more motivation, but no sense in wasting this opportunity.
You may recall the recognized greatest of all-time, Michael Jordan, used the smallest slight as a ploy to help him win six NBA championship. Never forget his embarrassing Hall of Fame acceptance speech during which he called out all who stood in his way, including former Jazz forward Bryon Russell.
For his part, Mitchell continues to take the surprising shots at his game in stride by saying the focus remains on the team rather than him. But, to varying degrees, several teammates stuck up for him.
Perhaps not surprisingly, given his glib nature, Joe Ingles was the most vocal. During his weekly radio segment on The Zone Sports Network, Ingles labeled the TNT criticism of Mitchell as "nonsense" driven by an attempt to gain ratings.
Ingles thinks the TNT crew has little first-hand knowledge of the Jazz, pointing out the team rarely plays on the Turner network each season. It's hard to properly evaluate the Jazz, he said, without watching them play throughout the season.
Part of Barkley's criticism of Mitchell centered on his lack of gaudy individual statistics. If the Jazz played a style that focused on Mitchell, Ingles believes he would average in the range of 35 points along with eight rebounds and eight assists a game.
Growing increasingly irritated the more he spoke, Ingles claimed indifference to the harsh critiques even as his words suggested otherwise. The cumulative effect on O'Neal's rebuke of Mitchell and his repeatedly criticism of Gobert's new contract prompted Ingles to lash out.
"We really don't give a (expletive) about what other people think about our team," said Ingles the morning after O'Neal's statement to Mitchell. "We really don't. If you get caught up in that stuff, it can affect your team or an individual. But I can promise everybody that Donovan went home and had an amazing sleep, and when he wakes up, he won't be any different from how he was yesterday.
"We know what Rudy and Donovan mean to our group. Everyone can have an opinion, but we don't really care about anyone's opinion except for the guys who are around us daily."
Staying true to his nature, Mike Conley took a more measured approach in his response to the backlash. The longtime veteran, in his second year on the Jazz, noted the improvement he's seen in Mitchell's game.
"He's gotten better every year," Conley said. "He's added things to his game and he'll continue to get better. We like to block out all the noise here, but obviously some things leak through and you hear it. It just motivates Don even more. I'm thankful for that, and I know he'll be better."
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