Excellent thought. Mitchell definitely took over that game and willed a win. Players in the NBA that can do that are very rare. Players that can do that as rookies???? I don't think they exist!
I remember watching Kobe when he was young and talented but didn't have the ability to take over a game and win it. A few years in, he figured it out and he would get that Kobe glare in the 4th quarter and you knew a win for the Jazz was very unlikely. That look where he was going to eat someone's soul. I also remember a Kings/Lakers game where Webber was playing phenomenal basketball but down the stretch of the fourth quarter Kobe got the death glare and when things didn't go Webber's way he'd shrug his shoulders, clap his hands and act disappointed. You could tell he was very good at bball, but mentally weaker than Kobe.
I'm not sure Mitchell wants to eat souls yet (usually it takes a few disappointing playoff series looses to develop that, e.g Kevin Durant) but he's got something there. He gets in his own head and destroys everything in his path. Sometimes I think you can see a physical change in him. I don't know if I'm describing it right, but it's like he ****s his head a quarter of an inch forward (not a very good explanation, but it's real! I'll try and find an example...it usually happens in the 4th quarter) My wife and I have started identifying it by saying "his spidey senses have kicked in".
He is special. Rookies don't do what he did (well, actually I think LeBron did, but can anyone else think of a rookie that did this in the playoffs? Maybe Derrick Rose?) He wasn't able to do it against James Harden and the Rockets, but we'll see what he can do 3 years from now.
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I originally wanted to post that I agree Hayward and AK couldn't take over games, but DWill could (not closeout Playoff games though...)
How about this thought... Rookie Spidad vs Prime DWill??