Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic said the Oklahoma City Thunder knew what they had in Ajay Mitchell from the beginning. The rest of the NBA is starting to see it now.<\/p>\n
Speaking with Steve McGehee, Lorenzi said Mitchell\u2019s emergence during the postseason has not come as a surprise inside the organization. He pointed to the rookie\u2019s poise, maturity and offensive feel dating back to the start of training camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone in the building will tell you they\u2019ve been impressed with him from day one,\u201d Lorenzi said. \u201cThe demeanor, the poise, the maturity, the ability to run offense \u2014 he\u2019s had that since he stepped into the building in 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mitchell\u2019s role has grown with Jalen Williams sidelined since the opening round of the playoffs. Lorenzi said the Thunder needed another creator and offensive spark, and Mitchell has supplied both.<\/p>\n
In Game 3 against the Lakers, Mitchell became the first player in Thunder franchise history to record at least 20 points and 10 assists without turning the ball over. Lorenzi said that reflected exactly what Oklahoma City has come to expect from him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat should tell you everything,\u201d Lorenzi said. \u201cHe\u2019s been exactly what they need. He\u2019s aggressive, he\u2019s confident, and as Mark Daigneault will tell you, he\u2019s not shy. And he shouldn\u2019t be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lorenzi also said Mitchell\u2019s versatility makes him a strong fit in Oklahoma City\u2019s best closing lineups. He pointed to Mitchell\u2019s ability to contribute both on and off the ball.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always thought their best closing lineup featured Ajay,\u201d Lorenzi said. \u201cWhat makes him so valuable is how threatening he is offensively while also holding his own defensively.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Thunder have continued to control the series despite trailing at halftime in back-to-back games. Lorenzi credited Oklahoma City\u2019s third-quarter play and the stability Mitchell has provided during the minutes without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Lakers have thrown a lot at Shai,\u201d Lorenzi said. \u201cThey\u2019ve trapped him, mixed coverages and tried to make him uncomfortable. But to Oklahoma City\u2019s credit, they\u2019ve been great even without him on the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lorenzi also looked ahead to the Western Conference picture, saying a Thunder-Spurs matchup has long seemed possible. He praised Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves, but said San Antonio\u2019s depth and ability to create offense set it apart.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat separates the Spurs is they have multiple guys who can create offense on their own,\u201d Lorenzi said. \u201cYou look at De\u2019Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and now Dylan Harper. They\u2019re incredibly well-rounded and ahead of schedule. It\u2019s felt like Thunder-Spurs for a long time now.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Thunder and Lakers continue their second-round series Monday night as Oklahoma City looks to keep advancing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic said the Oklahoma City Thunder knew what they had in Ajay Mitchell from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":636088,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[355,99],"class_list":["post-636087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=636087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636087\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/636088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=636087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=636087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=636087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}