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There’s last year’s league’s leading regular-season record, yes, but truly carrying the Jazz out of the expected dark days after Gordon Hayward’s departure was remarkable, especially for someone so unheralded, so young.īut he has asked for the weight of the organization to be put on his shoulders, and then has recently shirked responsibility for its failures. Of this, I have no doubt.Īnd Mitchell has done so much for the Jazz. He’s a good person, his heart is in the right place. I believe that Mitchell is well-intentioned. In short, he needs to be worried about it. Mitchell has been a significant part of the Jazz’s problem defensively, and they’ll need him to improve if they want to stand a chance defensively in this series. The Mavericks feel that Brunson isolating against Mitchell will be successful, and they have been right in Games 2 and 3. Mitchell’s responding here like we somehow don’t have the ability to watch the games - he is, unquestionably, being targeted on the defensive end of the floor.

I didn’t feel like it was like ‘Go at Donovan.’ But if that’s what they decide to do, I’m confident in my abilities on defense, and so are my teammates. When he was asked about Dallas targeting him on defense, he responded: “I wouldn’t say I felt targeted, to be honest. Jalen Brunson, especially, has had a field day.Īnd again, Mitchell’s recent comments on the issue leave something to be desired. Mitchell was rated as a bottom-20 defender in the NBA by FiveThirtyEight’s RAPTOR, which analyzes shot and tracking data to estimate a player’s impact on that end of the floor.Īnd in the playoffs, when it matters, Mitchell’s defense is having a negative impact: Players are shooting 11% better than their normal FG% when guarded by the Jazz’s star in the first three games of this series. We haven’t seen that in actual game action, though. The biggest thing is to elevate my defense, to get back to what got me drafted.” Two years ago, when in Australia with USA Basketball, he heavily emphasized that he wanted to become an elite defender: “For me, the biggest thing is just to get back to my roots. Recently, he’s had good intentions as well. He has a nearly unmatched sense of space and balance. He’s been blessed with a 6-9 wingspan, and is one of the best athletes on planet Earth.

He was drafted to be a defensive star, most frequently compared to Avery Bradley. What’s discouraging about Mitchell’s defense is that he has the tools to do better. He’s taking inefficient shots rather than the right ones. He slows the ball down, then drives or shoots over a set defense. What’s going on? Well, Mitchell starts forcing the issue in the clutch.

He’s 1 for 6 in these situations in the playoffs so far, or 8 for 24 in the fourth quarter. I don’t have to tell you: That’s abysmal. In this year’s regular season, he shot 33% from the field, 18% from the 3-point line, and 61% from the free-throw line when the game was within five points in the last five minutes. The clichè “total package” was invented for skillsets like Mitchell’s.īut when push comes to shove, Mitchell’s decision-making can become a problem late in games. Remarkably, he’s also an extremely gifted passer, capable of dishing on-the-move assists that, oh, five to 10 players in the world can throw. He has an excellent 3-point shot, shows craft and balance in the midrange, and still shows off an impressive dunk or crafty layup finish at least once or twice per game.

Mitchell is an absurdly talented offensive player - one of the only players in the NBA who can truly score at all three levels. We’ll turn our eyes to the offensive end of the floor first. To this point, he’s disappointed in that respect in this regular season and in this playoffs. But because that organizational influence has been given, now Mitchell has to reward it by becoming a true leader on the floor.