Referencing Utah finishing 23rd in clutch time net efficiency:
"The root of their issues was poor perimeter defense, which was set up by continuously getting beat off the dribble. Donovan Mitchell's struggles at the of the game didn't help."
Other interesting comments re: Mitchell:
"Mitchell shot 33% in clutch time, the third worst field goal percentage among 37 players to attempt 50 shots in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime with the score within five points, according to ESPN Stats & Information research."
"The defensive deficiencies and Mitchell's struggles at the end of the game came to life again in the first round."
"However, on the defensive end, he [Mitchell] ranked tied for 256th, according to FiveThirtyEight's RAPTOR metric, which uses play-by-play-tracking data to measure player's impact."
"While Mitchell struggles defensively, Gobert is the Jazz anchor. When Gobert is on the court, Utah ranks No. 1 in defensive efficiency. When he was off the court, they were tied for 21st with the Los Angeles Lakers."
"It is fair to say Gobert was exposed by the Clippers and Mavericks' small-ball tactics in their series, but that has more to do with Utah's poor perimeter defense and asking a 7-foot-1 center to provide help defense."
Lots of negative sentiment on Don here. The last quoted sentence has been my biggest gripe with the Rudy haters. Our defenders are causing Rudy to be exposed, it isn't 100% on him.