NBA Rising Stars: Team USA plots payback on FaceTime

CHARLOTTE, USA – How serious was Team USA in breaking its two-game slump in the Rising Stars Challenge? Well, Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell was already in touch with his teammates a couple of weeks back via FaceTime.

It was Mitchell, Sacramento Kings guard DeAaron Fox and Atlanta Hawks rookie Trae Young who were already in constant communication even before this weekend of NBA festivities.

“Last year, we lost by 50 [It was 31, by a score of 124-155] and I took that personally and I think a lot of us did,” said Mitchell.

“So we all came together and I called pretty much everybody and was like, ‘Look, let’s try to win this.’ You saw the effort today, too, except for the first like 10 minutes. But besides that, it was good.” 

A point of emphasis for the sophomore guard was playing some defense.

Mitchell stressed: “I said, ‘We need to do something. We can’t just trade baskets back-and-forth. They got some shooters over there and I didn’t want any of them to get hot. Once they get hot in a game like that, they can shoot it from anywhere. We all picked it up. We all did what we were supposed to do and it was fun.”

Perhaps, all the planning helped as Team USA hacked out a 161-144 victory over a Team World side bannered by Ben Simmons on Friday, February 15 (Saturday, February 16, Manila time). (READ: Kyle Kuzma, Team USA drub Team World in NBA Rising Stars)

Kuzma topscored with 35 points as the Los Angeles Lakers star also bagged MVP honors. (READ: Kyle Kuzma targets NBA All-Star game next year)

Mitchell likewise delivered with an all-around game of 20 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds and 5 steals

The Utah Jazz sophomore said, though, he didn’t lose the enjoyment factor of this special weekend.

“It’s like just playing pickup. Just having fun, enjoying it,”  the former Manila visitor said.

“You don’t overanalyze anything. Just go out and play like you did as a kid. The only difference is we are playing it on live TV. I think that’s really cool that we are playing pickup basketball in front of millions of people, which is pretty special and a blessing.” – Rappler.com