The hope is a healthy Conley will make the difference after a hamstring injury limited him to only 26 minutes against Los Angeles.īut Conley won’t solve the problems the loss exposed. GM Dennis Lindsey left but the Jazz tinkered around the edges otherwise, adding Rudy Gay and bringing back the top seven players in their rotation. The Jazz collapsed in their second-round loss against the Clippers because of their defense, giving up an average of 125 points on 54 percent shooting in the final two games of the series even with Kawhi Leonard watching in street clothes. ![]() He went on a tear when Conley went down in last season’s playoffs, averaging 34.0 points on 44.5 percent shooting in five games without his costar. All he needs is a big man to roll to the basket and shooters to spread the floor and he can handle the rest. Mitchell has gone from being a product of his environment to being the environment. He no longer needs to play with an All-Star point guard like Conley or a dominant center like Gobert. Conley has played only 26 minutes without Gobert this season. Snyder usually takes out his All-Star center at the same time as Conley and ties their playing time together. Most of those minutes have also come without Gobert. Mitchell has thrived without Conley this season: The result is a player ready for a bigger role. He has increased his assists from his rookie season (3.7 per game) to now (5.1) while keeping his turnovers relatively constant (2.7 to 2.9). He has gotten increasingly comfortable in a more disciplined setup and broken a lot of bad habits. The on-the-job training has paid off for Mitchell. Jeff Green lasted only a few months before playing better in more freewheeling systems in Houston and Brooklyn. Every Jazz player has to know what to do and where to be on the floor at all times. Playing under a more methodical coach in Snyder has been a learning process. Mitchell was at the center of everything, flying around the court and playing at one speed. His college teams were built to pressure opposing ball handlers as much as possible so they could create turnovers and get out and run in transition. The role made sense for him coming out of Louisville, where he averaged only 2.2 assists per game in two seasons under Rick Pitino. Mitchell started next to a traditional point guard in Ricky Rubio for his first two seasons before Conley took over. Utah coach Quin Snyder runs a democratic offensive system featuring multiple ball handlers. That’s been his job since coming into the league. When he plays with Conley, his job is to wait for his turn to put up shots and then put them up quickly. in the starting lineup and runs the show on his own when Conley sits. 23 in average time of possession (5.8 minutes). Per NBA Advanced Stats, he is tied for no. Mitchell doesn’t have the ball in his hands as much as you would expect for such a big-time scorer. Mitchell takes that many 3s not because he’s so good at them but because that’s the role the Jazz need him to fill. Curry, Hield, and Robinson all have career marks above 40 percent, while Lillard checks in at 37.3. He’s shooting 32.2 percent, well below his career average of 35.9.īut even if his 3-point shooting regresses to his mean, it’d still be below that of his peers. Boosting his scoring average could be as simple as getting hot from deep. He is tied with Duncan Robinson for fourth in the NBA behind only Steph Curry, Buddy Hield, and Damian Lillard. Mitchell leads the Jazz with nine 3-point attempts per game. They are second in 3-point attempts and dead last in 2-point attempts. The Jazz spread the floor for 48 minutes, run endless pick-and-rolls, and always look to move the ball into open 3s. The key is Utah’s relentless hunt for efficiency. 2 offense (2.8 points) is as big as the one between no. ![]() As of Wednesday, Utah is the only team with an offensive rating above 115 this season, after there were seven such teams last season. Their offense has declined slightly but has been less affected by the rule changes and the return of fans to the arenas than almost anyone else. His dip hasn’t affected the Jazz as a whole. His true shooting percentage, which also rose over his first four seasons in the NBA, is now lower than it was in his rookie season. His scoring average, after steadily increasing from 20.5 points per game as a rookie to 26.4 last season, has dipped to 23.2. The impact of taking fewer trips to the line shows up only when you look at his season numbers. Mitchell doesn’t look different, alternating between lighting up defenders from behind the arc and blowing past them off the dribble. It’s hard to notice those missing points in any one game. NBA First-Quarter Awards: Who’s Thriving, and Who’s Disappointing? Can Zach LaVine and the Bulls Make the Leap Together?
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