2018 NBA Playoffs: Grading each first round playoff series 

Oklahoma City Thunder vs Utah Jazz - A

Donovan Mitchell was the star of this series

If there is one takeaway any Thunder fan wishes to take away from this hugely disappointing postseason, it is the fact that Billy Donovan is incapable of taking any Thunder side to its full potential. Not many coaches in the league have the luxury of having three star scorers in their starting lineup, but Donovan has been unable to put them in the best place on offense.

Carmelo Anthony, in particular, looked old, washed-up and plainly incompetent for the most part - as he did for much of the regular season. One wonders whether he will act as another anchor for a Thunder franchise which has failed to fulfill the potential it displayed 6 years back in a Finals run.

Utah Jazz, on their part, game planned perfectly for this series. On the back of Donovan Mitchell's historically great series and Rudy Gobert's stifling paint presence, the Jazz turned in two-way displays of the highest order in Games 2, 3 and 4 to effectively end the series by that point.

They could have made short work of their opponents, but Westbrook went Super Saiyan in Game 5 to give Oklahoma City Thunder a glimmer of hope heading into Game 6.

Mitchell, who walked off the Chesapeake Energy Arena promising to fans that he'd only meet them in the 2018-19 season, dropped 38 points in the decider to put the Jazz over the line in a 96-91 win in Game 6.

Paul George once again flattered to deceive, as he only had 2 games of note through the 6-game series on the offensive end, while getting toasted by Mitchell on the other end. One has to wonder where his future lies now.

While this Jazz team will probably lose to the Rockets in 5, possibly 4 games in the Conference Semifinals, it would be huge for a franchise that lost its superstar in the offseason to the perils of free agency.