Lu masters assignment on Donovan Mitchell:
We could definitely write a whole series on Dort’s defensive matchups because of his emphatic efforts in big games against world-class talent. In fact, it could be a highlight in itself.
But as this series looks at only the top three games for each player, I have chosen another one of his games where he came up big against an All-Star. This time it was facing Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz on December 9th.
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In this match, Dort wasn’t the primary defender since he appeared in a reserve role. However, when he was in the game defending Mitchell he held the All-Star to two of seven and eight points with free throws factored in. Abdel Nader started this match but Dort’s defense on Mitchell may have been the precursor Billy Donovan needed that eventually led to the Canadian starting.
Offensively, Dort contributed nine points and two rebounds.
The situation surrounding whether OKC will reward him with a full-time contract is complicated, especially due to the NBA being on hiatus and the G-League canceled.
But even if this small sample is all fans get to see of Dort in 2019-2020, it’s been so much fun to watch him begin his career and go from strength to strength.
Despite offering up more of his grit on the defensive end, he has still shown that he lives up to the name of a two-way player, being able to make shots but also game-defining steals.
Thunder Nation hopes that we’ll continue to get the opportunity to see more of Dort and hope that the looming full-time deal comes sooner rather than later.