Ajay Mitchell Stats Tonight: How did Thunder two-way rookie fare in Alex Caruso's absence vs Pelicans?

The OKC Thunder, dealing with multiple injuries to key players, have turned to their guards, including two-way rookie Ajay Mitchell, to start the season. With centers Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams sidelined, the team has adopted a small-ball approach.

While coping with their own injury challenges, the Thunder, who were also without Alex Caruso, faced a New Orleans Pelicans team on Wednesday that has arguably had the toughest luck with injuries this season, with Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Jose Alvarado and Jordan Hawkins all out.

The Pelicans got off to a strong start, leading by 10 points in the first quarter, but the Thunder quickly bounced back, ending the period with a 33-28 advantage. OKC held on for a 54-50 halftime lead.

Ajay Mitchell missed both of his shots in the first half, but he still contributed with two free throws, two rebounds and a steal, finishing with a team-high plus-19 rating.

In the second half, Mitchell made two field goals, wrapping up with six points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals. His full stats are listed below.

Below are his full stats.

PLAYER	MIN	PTS	AST	REB	FGM	FGA	FG%	3PM	3PA	3P%	FTM	FTA	FT%	OREB	DREB	STL	BLK	TO	PF	=+/-
Ajay Mitchell	25:51	6	3	2	2	4	50.0	0	0	0.0	2	2	100	0	2	2	0	0	2	18

Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander topped OKC’s scoring with 31 and 29 points, respectively, while Brandon Ingram scored 18 points on 18 attempts for the Pelicans.

Mark Daigneault praises Ajay Mitchell’s basketball instincts

The OKC Thunder boast a deep roster, especially in the guard positions, but one of the first players off the bench has been Ajay Mitchell, who has yet to secure a standard contract with the team.

In the Thunder’s strong 9-2 start, Mitchell has appeared in every game, averaging 5.2 points, 1.8 assists and 1.5 rebounds per game. His season-high of 12 points came three times, all in games where he played at least 20 minutes.

Back in October, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault expressed his admiration for Mitchell’s offensive play.

"He is competing first of all, and on the offensive end of the floor he is a really cerebral player. He not only has good instincts but he also understands globally what's going on on the court at a very very high level for a guy with as little experience as he has,” Daigneault said (per SI).

“He has also gotten better very quickly, usually when people show that type of quick improvement, it shows they have a trajectory that is worth exploring."

The Thunder hold three picks in the 2024 NBA draft: Nikola Topic, selected No. 12 but out for the season recovering from an ACL injury, Dillon Jones, picked No. 26 and Ajay Mitchell, selected No. 38.

Both active rookies have secured spots in the Thunder rotation.