Spida down! It seems unusual that an NBA player enters a concussion protocol, but these days, the league is taking head injuries very seriously. Donovan “Spida” Mitchell from the Utah Jazz had a collision and suffered a head injury against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night, and he’ll miss tonight’s game with a concussion.
On Tuesday in practice, Mitchell exhibited concussion symptoms, so the team quickly put him into the protocol. He leads the Jazz in scoring with 25.5 ppg and is ranked #9 overall in NBA scoring.
Mitchell suffered the injury late in the first half when he caught an errant elbow from Russell Westbrook with less than a minute remaining in the second quarter.
This is the play where Donovan Mitchell was hurt last night, leading to him being in the concussion protocol and out for the Jazz's game against the Rockets tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/Eb2Fd3niyi
— Sarah Todd (@NBASarah) January 19, 2022
Mitchell played in the second half and didn’t look like he was initially fazed by the injury. He finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists in the loss. Mitchell had an off-shooting night against the Lakers, but then again, so did the entire Jazz team. The Lakers played air-tight defense on the perimeter and held the Jazz to 26.1% from beyond the arc. They shut out Mitchell from downtown, who shot 0-for-8 from deep.
Monday was a must-win situation for the Lakers, who previously dropped three games in a row, including an embarrassing 37-point ass-kicking by the Denver Nuggets last weekend. That Nuggets game was so bad that Magic Johnson lambasted the team via Twitter and LeBron James later issued a public apology to fans.
Jazz on deck: Rockets, Pistons, Warriors, Suns
The Jazz listed Mitchell as out for tonight’s game against the last-place Houston Rockets. They host another bad team when the Detroit Pistons come to Salt Lake City on Friday.
Head coach Quin Snyder hopes Mitchell will clear concussion protocol and return to the lineup on Sunday. The Jazz hit the road for a quick two-game, back-to-back road trip against the top teams in the Western Conference. The Golden State Warriors (32-12) host the Jazz in San Francisco on Sunday before the Jazz fly to Phoenix to take on the top-seeded Suns on Monday. The Jazz (29-15) will meet the Suns again next Wednesday when the Suns visit SLC.
Next weekend, the Jazz have a huge home/away series against the surging Memphis Grizzlies (31-15), who moved into the #3 seed in the Western Conference. The Jazz (29-15) recently slipped to the #4 seed after dropping six out of their last 10 games. Betting-wise, the Jazz are only 20-24 ATS this season.
The Jazz are +1100 odds to win the 2022 NBA Championship and are listed fifth on the NBA futures board over at DraftKings. They’re +475 odds to win the Western Conference.
