After their latest win, Utah Jazz says the pile-up of wins will hide criticism from TNT analysts

“I said tonight you don’t have what it takes to get to the next level.”

So said TNT studio analyst Shaquille O’Neal to Donovan Mitchell in the immediate aftermath of Utah Jazz’s 129-118 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night – a match that saw the Jazz not only take their seventh consecutive win, but Mitchell arguably saw his best game of the season play, with 11 of 19 shots overall and 6 of 7 of deep for a total of 36 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

And so, a national TV showcase for the Jazz became a source of both controversy and motivation for the team’s All-Star guard instead.

At halftime, TNT’s “Inside the NBA” team of O’Neal, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson got into a discussion about whether Mitchell was nothing more than a pretty good bucket getter on a pretty good team, or whether he possessed the real ‘superstar’ ability to influence the game in ways other than by scoring.

Mitchell heard about O’Neal’s criticism from the Hall of Fame center itself and then asked for a response.

His clearly annoyed-but-refuses-to-take-the-bait-one-word answer: “Aight.”

But Mitchell would later have a lot more to say to the local media.

“We currently have a seven-game win streak, we play good basketball – I hate winning this way and talking about what they said about me,” he noted. “You look at how we played and guarded, I’m happy.”

There was indeed enough to be happy about, as the Jazz had just returned from a 16-point deficit, just overcoming their worst basketball quarter of the season when they gave up 43 points to the Pelicans in the first period. has just improved to 11-4 overall in season.

And yet, as it happened, the TNT squad came to the consensus that Mitchell isn’t doing enough outside of scoring to be the protagonist on a championship contender.

O’Neal opened the argument by suggesting that Mitchell “must be a second or third option” for a team to compete. When Smith replied, ‘I see he’s scoring at will and I see he’s overwhelming people,’ Barkley intervened, ‘that’s not what a superstar is. A superstar is someone who can win the game in different ways.

“A lot of guys are great offensive players, but a superstar is someone who can win a game; if he has a bad shooting night, he can get a lot of rebounds or he can defend, ”added Barkley. ‘… When guys try to explain things like this, it seems like it’s old guys who hate. They are not hates of old boys. It’s like, ‘OK, he’s a great scorer.’ I’ll give you that, but it doesn’t affect the rest of the game in any way. “

O’Neal doubled up on that premise: “He’s a great scorer, I agree. But if he doesn’t score, what else can he do? “

Mitchell’s teammates, of course, came to defend him.

“I’ve been a big fan of Don and watched him grow over the past few seasons, even before I was here. His progress has been great, and I don’t know how you can make a statement about his progress at such a young age, ”said Mike Conley, who finished with 20 points, six assists and three steals. ‘He’s a man who gets better every year. He has added things to his game. And he will keep getting better. “

“I think at the end of the day, whatever they want to call us, if we keep winning games, they’ll have to keep an eye on us,” said Gobert. “Hopefully they can keep an eye on us until July [when the NBA Finals are scheduled to take place], and then they can call us whatever they want. “

Mitchell, for his part, obviously disagreed with the analysts’ assessment of his game, saying, “I think I’ve made some good progress” in areas other than scoring.

He noted that he enjoys the simplicity of bouncing back, placing a body on an opponent, raising it to the sky, and fighting to see who comes down with the ball. He added that while he knows he can still make progress as a passer, he nonetheless takes pride in moving the ball, “being able to make the simple game, not always just let the hero play,” let the home run play. “

However, Mitchell also made it clear that whether some critics change their mind about him is ultimately irrelevant – the Jazz has bigger business at hand.

“I am here to play basketball and be the best teammate and the best player I can be. [And if] they don’t like it, they don’t like it, ”he said. ‘I’m not trying to say this about me – this is team basketball. At the end of the day we’re winning, we’re doing good things, we just gotta keep it up cause you got into Golden State [Saturday] and we must be ready for that. “