LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS MEDIA CONFERENCE

June 12, 2021

Donovan Mitchell

Postgame Press Conference

Los Angeles Clippers - 132, Utah Jazz - 106

Q. Quin said that you were okay to return to the game. Obviously we saw you limping off the floor. What's your level of pain, concern moving forward, all of that?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: I'm good. That's all I got for you. I'm good. It happened, the situation happened. I feel like I was able to go back, but no need to risk it down 16, 18 at that point. So I'll be fine.

Q. We saw you having kind of a long conversation with Quin on the sideline when you came back out from the tunnel. Can you tell us what was said there?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: Basically what I just said. It doesn't make sense to go back out there and possibly tweak it. Just rest and get ready for the next game.

Q. Did their physicality defensively catch you guys off guard? They were picking you guys up 94 feet, hard doubles, 40 feet from the basket. Did you guys react to it the way you wanted to? And what kind of adjustments can you make for Game 4 when they play you with that kind of physicality so high up?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: I think just we missed a few easy ones. I think that's definitely tough. They want to throw a double. That's fine. I have no problem getting off the ball. Like I said, I told you guys the other day, we all trust each other to make plays and make shots, and tonight we didn't really make shots and make them pay for doubling. And at the end of the day, that's what it comes down to. We didn't get stops either which kind of compounds that fact. But for us it's, they did a good job. They raised their level. For them, it was not going down 3-0. That was their mindset and they took care of business at home and we got to go out there and try and talk the next one. Simple as that. We'll make the proper adjustments and there are things that we can look at to do better and we'll get ready for the next game.

Q. You mentioned the defense. Obviously allowing 132 points. What is it that was kind of going wrong on the defensive end because usually you guys have such a terrific half court defense. That wasn't really the case tonight.

DONOVAN MITCHELL: Yeah, like I said, they raised their level. They were determined to get to their spots and we kind of let them get comfortable. Reggie Jackson started the game off really hot. I think 4-4. Paul George started 5 or whatever. They were comfortable. We allowed them to get comfortable. And I think when you have that comfortability, and then throughout the game, you get confident. You continue to do -- and they're going to hit shots. They're a talented team. They got talented players. But we can make it tougher on them, and I think that was one thing we didn't do tonight that we did the past two games and we'll make those adjustments and get ready for Game 4.

Q. On the play where you limped off, looking at the replay, it wasn't apparent what caused the pain. Was it the take off or was it the landing? What happened on that?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: It's when I land. It's been just trying to manage it. I don't really know what else to tell you. I don't want to say too much. So, yeah, it was just the landing. But I'm good. I'll be ready for Game 4.

Q. How does the complexion of the game change when Paul George starts as hot as he did and then kind of sustains the scoring throughout the game?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: It's huge. They're talented players. We kind of let them get comfortable and he got to his spots and he felt -- they're home, you know. It's supposed to be comfortable. At the end of the day, he hit some shots, but we can make it tougher on him, on Kawhi. They combined for 62, 63 points. We didn't have that when we were at home. So we got to come out there with the same energy and intensity to keep them from doing what they did, and I think for us, guys who aren't necessarily guarding them, to make it tougher, whether it's the hedges or the switches or the whatever. I think that's the biggest thing. Credit to them for raising their level, but, we got to make adjustments and get ready for Game 4.

Q. We have seen you show a lot of toughness, play through a lot of things. Has playing through some pain always kind of been one of your biggest strengths?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: Yeah, as much as I can. As long as it's smart. I think that's the biggest thing. Kind of going into situations and asking, can I make it worse, like, playing on it. Because obviously it sounds great to go out there and play through certain instances. I'm not talking about myself in this instance, but like it's smart to go and play through whatever. But if you're going to make it worse it's not necessarily the smart move to go out there. So as long as it's the smart decision.

Obviously I'm not going to be a hundred percent, but you go out there and you try to compete and things like this are going to happen. You just got to find ways to manage it and get out there and get ready. It's not going to be perfect but it is what it is.

Q. What were the reads that you made? You talk about making reads all the time between the first and the second quarter there when you found your shot.

DONOVAN MITCHELL: Understanding that I hadn't seen a double like that since like high school. So for me, just seeing it and kind of feeling the game. They did a good job of it. But for me, it was just trying to find ways to get my teammates involved and I was able to make those plays, make those reads throughout the course of the game, seeing where the double was coming from, and then also flipping it and finding my spots to attack.

So for me that was really the main focus. They're probably going to do it again, so I got to get ready for it, watch the film. And like I said we missed some shots, so I think, I'm confident in the fact that if we hit some shots, it's a different game, but we also got to get stops too. For us, we see it, we understand it, and we make adjustments and get ready for the next game.

Q. What kind of resources is Mike on the sideline right now and in a game like this? Are you guys able to talk in timeouts or what does he bring to the team or you personally?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: For me, a lot of it is just kind of like the reads, what he sees, feeling the game out. Like, all right, it's time to attack, it's time to kind of feel the game, who hasn't gotten involved. Stuff that I may not see because I'm in the flow of it. Tonight we -- we got to get Bojan more involved in the next game, got to get Bojan more involved. There's certain passes that I can make to, that I kind of forced up some shots that I'm not proud of, and he's quick to let me know, and I think that's what makes our relationship really good because he's quick to let me know and I'm out there quick to fix it.

So I'll watch the film. He'll watch the film with me as well and we'll go back and figure it out. But he's, just having him realtime is huge, to have a guy like that who's been here, who has seen this, so many games, so many times. So it definitely helps, not just myself, but helps the team as well.

Q. How important for you as a team is it to stay even keel after that loss tonight? And what aspects of your game do you need to improve and what was your message about that?

DONOVAN MITCHELL: You said even keel? Is that what you said?

Q. Yes.

DONOVAN MITCHELL: Yeah. I think for us it's like understanding that they did their job. They took care of home court, just like we did, but we got to go out there and try and steal one. Understanding that the final score doesn't necessarily reflect the effort we put in and the stuff we did, but there's a lot of things we can do better. I think that's where our mind is and understanding that we're not going to get too low. Like after the first two wins, we weren't too high, so for us it's just keep it like you said, even keel and understanding that we got another one. This is a series. So for us, it's like understanding what adjustments we can make to get better.

And then for me, what adjustments I can make to be better. I think being able to understand where the doubles are coming from, what they're throwing at me, and finding my teammates. And then defensively I can be better too. There's some things we all can do as a group and I think that's the first part of it, acknowledging it, watching the film, and getting better.

Q. You've been in the league for only four years, but what have you gathered about the importance of making the right reads in various coverages? I know you touched base on that, but if you can elaborate.

DONOVAN MITCHELL: I think the first part is slowing the game down and that's not necessarily easy to do. So for me kind of seeing it over and over again. You look at guys who have been in the league for 17, 16 years, everybody talks about how do they see things. Like Chris Paul, for example, having, what is it, 28 assists to 2 turnovers, like that's the type of stuff, being able to manipulate the game that I ultimately look at. And we all look at to try to find ways to slow the game down myself -- and I throw that example out there because he's one of the best at it, but for me it's like finding ways, okay, they're throwing a double, I haven't seen a double in a long time, so understanding what to see, how to attack, when to attack, when to pass, who is open, who hasn't gotten a shot, where the mismatches are. But like where those things are -- so for me that's really been -- I think the bubble really helped and having that time before the bubble to really watch film of myself in depth, because I really couldn't go anywhere during quarantine. So being able to sit there for hours and kind of just watch like what do I see, what, who do I attract if I'm going to drive. And tonight I'm going to do the same thing and understanding that. So having that series in the playoffs in the bubble and being able to see that that's allowed me to come into this year with the same mindset and same thought process of being able to manipulate and attack and find the guys on the wing and the corner, find Rudy. And then it's still a learning process, there's still things I'm going to mess up, but at the end of the day being able to continually make those reads I think is something I take pride in and it just comes with a lot of film work. So, yeah, that's it.