Donovan Mitchell: All-NBA BEST Team

[adam81king]

Though I have doubts it'll continue at this clip, the thing thats been far better than I thought about Mitchell is how consistent his shot it. He squares his shoulders, no matter his lower body position, as wonderfully as Ive ever seen. His shooting motion is equally consistent. His right arm positioning and snap of the wrist is flawless. If he wasn't so short and squat, he might be in the running for prettiest jumper ever...

And it's been going in wonderfully this year.

 

[Lee]

Though I have doubts it'll continue at this clip, the thing thats been far better than I thought about Mitchell is how consistent his shot it. He squares his shoulders, no matter his lower body position, as wonderfully as Ive ever seen. His shooting motion is equally consistent. His right arm positioning and snap of the wrist is flawless. If he wasn't so short and squat, he might be in the running for prettiest jumper ever...

And it's been going in wonderfully this year.

His improved shooting is from 3 factors, one he is shooting better, worked on it in the off season, his shot is wet as fuck now.

two, he has a better back court mate and is getting assisted more.

three we have some good three point shooters out there with him so the focus cant be all on Mitchell.

I dont see why his shooting will suddenly go down, most of his shots are open, he does take a couple step back and pull ups, but that is the part of his game i dont always like that i have to live with. That said, the pull up and step back 3's were going in yesterday for sure.

 

[cavsfever]

The pull up and step back 3s are just an incredible addition to an offense, especially frankly when you have a kind of lame coach like we do. They are shots he can create himself without being dependent on the offense.

Mitchell's effective field goal percentage is at his highest career level by far. It's at 59.3% vs 53.3% last year which was his previous career high. That is MVP/HOF level for a guy who scores as much as he does. His two point field goal percentage is five points higher than his career average and his three point field goal percentage is six points over his career average. He was never really inefficient but he was more of a volume scorer on league average percentages, now he's jumped to first team all-NBA offensive level.

Really hope that this is a permanent change and there's no reversion to the mean here, because some of these stats are pretty unprecedented for him over a season or even over the playoffs. Certainly it looks real on the court.

 

[red.]

 

[cabs]

Handy acquisition.

 

[Jscc]

Mitchell is finally surrounded by a team that can keep up with him athletically and energetically. He's the old guy in the starting lineup. I think he was the youngest in Utah's.

 

[adam81king]

Mitchell's effective field goal percentage is at his highest career level by far. It's at 59.3% vs 53.3% last year which was his previous career high. That is MVP/HOF level for a guy who scores as much as he does. His two point field goal percentage is five points higher than his career average and his three point field goal percentage is six points over his career average. He was never really inefficient but he was more of a volume scorer on league average percentages, now he's jumped to first team all-NBA offensive level.

Really hope that this is a permanent change and there's no reversion to the mean here, because some of these stats are pretty unprecedented for him over a season or even over the playoffs. Certainly it looks real on the court.

This is what I meant about his start not lasting, @Lee . Admittedly, its mostly because Cleveland sports history makes it damn near impossible for a new acquisition to play *better* in Cleveland than their previous stops. I'd be thrilled to be wrong, if Don can keep this up, though. Just doesn't feel possible for a Cleveland team.

 

[Bob_The_Cat]

The pull up and step back 3s are just an incredible addition to an offense, especially frankly when you have a kind of lame coach like we do. They are shots he can create himself without being dependent on the offense.

Mitchell's effective field goal percentage is at his highest career level by far. It's at 59.3% vs 53.3% last year which was his previous career high. That is MVP/HOF level for a guy who scores as much as he does. His two point field goal percentage is five points higher than his career average and his three point field goal percentage is six points over his career average. He was never really inefficient but he was more of a volume scorer on league average percentages, now he's jumped to first team all-NBA offensive level.

Really hope that this is a permanent change and there's no reversion to the mean here, because some of these stats are pretty unprecedented for him over a season or even over the playoffs. Certainly it looks real on the court.

Who knows if he can maintain it, but this is a big deal:

Inside 5ft

21-23: 61% on 4.9 FGA
22-23: 71% on 4.6 FGA

I don't know if he'll shoot 43%+ from three on the year, but everything seems to indicate stuff that you'd expect to see when a guy goes from playing with a lane clogging big and a bunch of stationary shooters to playing with another ball-handler who is a high level shooter and passer and mobile/stretch bigs that can pull their man out of the paint and are also good passers.

 

[Lee]

This is what I meant about his start not lasting, @Lee . Admittedly, its mostly because Cleveland sports history makes it damn near impossible for a new acquisition to play *better* in Cleveland than their previous stops. I'd be thrilled to be wrong, if Don can keep this up, though. Just doesn't feel possible for a Cleveland team.

I knew what you meant, I was thinking the same thing, but he is 21 games into the season and the way he is playing here is looser and he is a much better shot that i thought.....i think he is a 47%/40% guy in this offense which is where he is.

Curry is like at 46% on 3's this year, he isnt that, but who is. I kno Mitchell spent the summer working on his shot with Garland, i think its paying off some.

 

[stick]

I knew what you meant, I was thinking the same thing, but he is 21 games into the season and the way he is playing here is looser and he is a much better shot that i thought.....i think he is a 47%/40% guy in this offense which is where he is.

Curry is like at 46% on 3's this year, he isnt that, but who is. I kno Mitchell spent the summer working on his shot with Garland, i think its paying off some.

Mitchell is actually shooting the same percentage as Steph (48.2 %) on pull-up three point shots on 1 less attempt than Curry (6.3 vs 5.3 attempts per game). Those two are far and away the highest percentage on volume of pull-up threes taken. Desmond Bane is the only player in the vicinity (47.4%) and he's nearly one less attempt than Mitchell.

Dunno if that maintains to that high of a degree, but his catch and shoot may improve. DM is at 36.8 % on his catch and shoot threes at the moment. Last year he was 32 percent there and the year before he was 42 percent, so there's a range of outcomes that his career has demonstrated thus far. I think DG and Evan and the rest (Ricky already knows) will continue to learn where DM wants the ball on his catches (I remember the other day against Orlando, DG had a pass to DM in the corner for three. The pass was slightly low, but DM was able to adjust and knock it down anyways) which could improve his numbers off the catch as the year goes on.

I'm with ya Lee. He is playing loose and getting bunches of points within the flow of the game and the shots that he wants. I think it's sustainable. The summer with DG could've impacted his shooting, for sure. Early on prior to training camp, Mitchell said something akin to having his eyes open when he realized DG is just a good a shooter as he was and maybe better when they were just doing shooting drills. That kinda stuff has an impact!

This year, thus far, there's an argument that Donovan Mitchell is a top three best three point shooter in the league which bodes very, very, very, very, very well for the Cavs! One wild part is he can generate points inside the arc at very good rates as well and I've been blown away at how he generates these shots with his ball handling, balance, explosiveness, leveraging opponent's balance against themselves, timely buckets, and so much more.

I'm really excited for what's to come!

 

[Adam]

What I love about Mitchell is his longevity. Even though he is older that garland and Mobley his shooting is so pure that you can see him being a top tier offensive player into his mid thirties

 

[Jordan]

He’s a true superstar. He’s one of the seven or so guys in the NBA that, without, you can’t compete for a title. Lucky to have another all-nba talent in Cleveland again.

 

[Cement]

 

[Alec]

2nd most talented/effective player in franchise history?

I call him Mini-LeBron. He’s a bully.

 

[Cement]