Harden believes 'sky's the limit' for Jazz's Mitchell

Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell didn't perform well in the first round, shooting 32.1 percent from the field and averaging 4.2 turnovers per contest as his team fell in five games to the Houston Rockets.

But the 22-year-old flashed his potential in Game 4 while scoring a game-high 31 points, including 13 of the Jazz's first 15 points to begin the fourth quarter. That made an impression on Rockets star James Harden.

"He's confident," Harden told reporters postgame on Wednesday, including ESPN's Tim MacMahon. "You see what he did last game. He's capable of taking over a game, and it's only his second year ... once he gets more comfortable in his role and he knows that he's one of those guys, the sky's the limit for him."

Mitchell ended his postseason with one of the worst performances of his young career. He was held to 12 points on 4-of-22 shooting during Game 5, including 0-of-9 from distance. Mitchell also recorded a game-high five turnovers and was stripped of the ball with his team down one in the final minute.

But the sophomore hopes this low point will help him in the long run.

"It's funny, Dame (Lillard) said this yesterday: 'You don't succeed without failure, and you don't succeed without going through times like this,'" Mitchell said. "To have that so vividly in my head in a moment like this - I can tell you that I'm upset, but I'm going to be better, simply put."