The top-seeded Utah Jazz came up just short in the opening game of their first-round series against the Memphis Grizzlies, as star point guard Donovan Mitchell was a last-minute scratch due to a right ankle sprain that forced him to miss the final 16 games of the regular season.
But the Jazz's two-time All-Star and leading scorer returned to the floor in Game 2 on Wednesday night, and didn't seem to miss a beat. In 26 minutes, Mitchell scored a team-high 25 points in Utah's 141-129 win over the Grizzlies at Vivint Arena, knotting the series at a game apiece. Mitchell's presence on and off the court undoubtedly provided a spark for the Jazz. Of the nine players who saw action, seven scored double-digit points, and the team finished with a whopping 19-made threes on 39 total attempts.
It's been over two decades since Utah last earned the West's one-seed and represented the conference in the NBA Finals. There's an inherent pressure that comes with being a top-seed, but former NBA player and current Jazz television analyst Thurl Bailey wouldn't prefer a different situation.
"I think it's great," Bailey told After Hours with Amy Lawrence on Thursday morning. "I was talking to my broadcast partners, and there are certain segments we've got to talk about -- who do you think the Jazz want to play, don't want to play. When you're No. 1, you don't care, right? You don't go and say, 'Well, we'd rather be matched up with this team, this team, looking for numbers.' No, because what starts to creep in is a little bit of doubt. You're the No. 1 seed. Teams are supposed to say that about you. And so, I think this Jazz team is pretty grounded -- [head coach] Quinn Snyder keeps them that way -- and they know they're not going to beat their chest because they're No. 1.
"And Quinn talks about wanting to be the last man standing... I think the COVID thing, in a way, has helped this team -- and has maybe helped other teams -- to bond better and be around each other... When you're No. 1, you've got to play like No. 1, and the Jazz didn't do that in the first game. But I think with Donovan back now, the road's tougher, and I think you're going to see different basketball from the Jazz."
According to FiveThirtyEight's projections, Utah has a 36-percent chance to reach the Finals (league's second-best odds) for the first time since 1998, and a 21-percent chance to win the title.
Game 3 of the best-of-seven series will take place on Saturday night in Memphis, with tipoff scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET.
The entire conversation between Bailey and Lawrence can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow After Hours With Amy Lawrence on Twitter @ALawRadio and @AfterHoursCBS, and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.