"He's a kid that steps up"
Sunday 22 December 2019 11:55, UK
Utah Jazz's Donovan Mitchell has backed high school friend Devonte' Graham for the Most Improved player accolade amid his impressive season with the Charlotte Hornets.
Graham is currently averaging 19.1 points and 7.5 assists for Charlotte this year having earned a starting role earlier in the season.
The 24-year-old was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in the second round in 2018 before immediately being traded to the Hornets for two second round picks.
Having spent his rookie year playing behind Kemba Walker and averaging just 4.7 points and 14.7 minutes per game, Graham has since asserted himself as a key contributor.
Saturday night saw him rack up 22 points and four assists as Charlotte were beaten 114-107 by Jazz, for whom Mitchell supplied 20 points and nine assists.
"That's a Devonte that I have known for my whole life," said his former Brewster Academy teammate Mitchell.
"He's a kid that steps up and wants the clutch moment and wants everything. And he's going to go get out there and get it.
"I think he really deserves the Most Improved Player. To do what he's doing, it's really unmatched."
Graham's efforts couldn't stop Utah from stretching their winning streak to five games on the night having been down by eight points at halftime.
Bojan Bogdanovic finished with 26 points, Rudy Gobert had 17 points and 19 rebounds and the Jazz shot 10 of 19 from three-point range to finish the job.
Joe Ingles also chipped in with 14 which included two key three-pointers in the final quarter.
Mitchell added: "It was about keeping it simple and making the simple read. And we ended up doing that in the second half."
Hornets coach James Borrego continued: "They've (Jazz) got multiple ball handlers with size that can pass over our defense. Give them credit, they kicked it, they made shots."
