OKC Thunder – Utah Jazz Series: Battle of the backcourts

For the OKC Thunder: a wild-eyed ball of veteran energy and a historic MVP candidate. For the Utah Jazz, a smooth-passing Spaniard and ROY hopeful with poise beyond his years.

This OKC Thunder and Utah Jazz matchup offers up two unique backcourts that are worth dissecting with the first round underway. @SteveThunderfan already broke down the big men in the series, but game one proved the guard play is more than deserving of some spotlight.

There are a few similarities to be drawn between arguably the team’s two best players – Russell Westbrook and Donovan Mitchell. Neither one is lacking in athleticism. We have already seen some Thunderous slams by both players. One main difference is their shooting prowess.

The Westbeast is money with his mid-range jumpers, but came up shy of the 30 percent mark from downtown on the season. Mitchell on the other hand was 16th in the NBA in makes from deep, while hitting at a 34 percent clip. Not as high a percentage as Head Coach Quin Snyder may prefer, but still threatening.