The 12th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft is someone you shouldn’t miss. The next time the Spida is in your area make sure to tune in.
Mitchell was drafted to the Utah Jazz, and he couldn’t have come at a better time for the franchise. Gordon Hayward was on his way out, and that really made room for Mitchell to flourish. He leads all rookies in points per game (19.6) on 33 minutes a game. That’s an impressive number for an undersized SG.
Coach Quin Snyder is trusting the 21-year old and putting him in situations that clearly bring him out of his comfort zone. It only took him a few games to get comfortable and that’s rare for a rookie.
Mitchell’s athleticism is comparable to Russell Westbrook, and we all saw that on All-Star Saturday night when he won his first Dunk Contest.
His quick first step is hard to stop, and his ability to attack the rim is what makes him a threat everywhere offensively. He can kill you at the rim and step-back and hit the three-ball consistently.
The Jazz lucked out finding a huge talent. Now there’s a player in Utah to build their team around. A healthy Gobert and Favors in the back-court have proven complementary to Mitchell.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/57500431/usa_today_10382580.0.jpg)
Mitchell does have his weaknesses, but they don’t seem to be holding him back, and they’re fixable.
His Passing Game
Being a two-guard, he isn’t made to pass all that much, but it won’t hurt him to improve the skill. It could be the difference between impacting a game and making Utah a contender come the postseason.
With the pick-and-roll game, we find Mitchell on the shooting end of it. He comes off a screen and goes right up with it. If he can hit Favors on a pick-and-pop or Gobert on a pick-and-roll his assist total can improve. With that being said he’s stuck at 3.5 assists per game. If he can get that number up to five that takes a load off Ricky Rubio in the back-court.
All He Does Is Shoot:
A lot of critics pose the problem that Spida shoots way too much and sometimes even shoots himself out of the game. He’s had games where he goes 1-7 or 7-20 from the field, and it can be cancerous at times. He’s added a few more tools to his arsenal and being able to attack the rim is helpful as well.
With that being said, Mitchell is easily a rookie of the year candidate and I’ll be damned if he loses to Ben Simmons who clearly isn’t a rookie.
It will all come down to how he performs in the second half of the season, as the Jazz sit 10th in the standings and have a true shot at making the playoffs. With Mitchell being the center of attention, I believe the Jazz can sneak into that eighth spot once the regular season winds down.