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How much should we be talking about Donovan?

He was fine against 76ers he shot 50% from the floor overall. I would take that from him every game tbh
 
His biggest drop off this year is as a catch and shoot 3P shooter. Was 40.6% last year and 29% this year on basically 3 attempts per game each year. If he was making those at a higher clip his overall percentages would be close to the prior year.

He has some trouble finding balance in his reads. I'd rather him work in the 15-18 foot range rather than at the rim when the paint is packed. A few times I think he'd be better off kicking the ball out more on his drives. I think he could also get a decent pump fake game going and draw some fouls that way. If you look at his drive attempts per game his shooting percentages aren't super far off of what Dame's are... he gets to the line more. Last year DM shot a little better on his drives (like 2% better) but got to the line much more frequently because I think he was getting closer to the rim. I think scouting reports caught up with him a little bit here.

I honestly think if his perimeter shot improved off the dribble and if his catch and shoot percentage was better he'd open up more drives and passing lanes... those are things he can fix himself. This year he is actually a little better off the dribble than last year (29.3 to 29.9). That doesn't sound great but it isn't waaaaaay off from where the high volume guys are that are good at it... getting that to 34% to 36% changes things substantially.

It is also tough to ask him to create so much at this stage in his career when the paint is packed. Having an additional shooter on the floor opens up an easy passing lane when the drives get stone walled. He's carrying a big a lot of the creation responsibility and struggling with it.

TLDR... His outside shot is the most important thing that needs improvement. I personally don't want him taking less threes. He could also use a little more space at the rim.
Speaking of Dame. I noticed he shot 7/20 last night against the Warriors. It’s just kind of what you get with a shooter I think. We may be expecting too much efficiency. Still could make better decisions, but lots of stars are inefficient.
 
Every one but a few Jazz homers that lack bball iq knew that Mitchell was going have growing pains in his second year. Every one that knows the game knows things change when they have a year of film on you and are putting more emphasis on the scouting report. People were expecting all star for a 21 year old. Time after time again people fall for the same narrative about a young player. Mitchell will be fine. People expecting a top ten player were just being unrealistic. His max level is as a top 20/25 player.
 
Every one but a few Jazz homers that lack bball iq knew that Mitchell was going have growing pains in his second year. Every one that knows the game knows things change when they have a year of film on you and are putting more emphasis on the scouting report. People were expecting all star for a 21 year old. Time after time again people fall for the same narrative about a young player. Mitchell will be fine. People expecting a top ten player were just being unrealistic. His max level is as a top 20/25 player.

I thought his shot would progress a bit more... rather than regress. I also placed a lot of faith in our development staff and how much he improved in season. I thought it would be gradual... but the homer in the back of my mind was saying "he's gonna be an all-star this year". It's been disappointing but understandable.

I also downplayed the toe injury, when it appears it was a very real thing this offseason. Hurt how much work he could do... which sucks... first few offseasons are super important to a player's development trajectory.
 
Speaking of Dame. I noticed he shot 7/20 last night against the Warriors. It’s just kind of what you get with a shooter I think. We may be expecting too much efficiency. Still could make better decisions, but lots of stars are inefficient.

Dame is money off the dribble and bends the whole defense though... gets to the line. Guys that rely on shooting as much as he does will be susceptible to bad nights though.
 
At some point he'll start to understand the game and himself better.

I’ve already seen this start to happen. It’s not perfect, and he’s not a finished product. Right now players are going under screens because the stats say to let him shoot outside. Once he has had time to develop his shot %’s then teams will try to go through screens to take the 3pt shot away which will allow him to be more effective in pick’n roll and driving for lay ins and kick outs, and will open up his passing game as well as get to the line more.

One thing I liked last night was his ability to take and hit the mid range shot instead of going all the way all out of control.
 
I’ve already seen this start to happen. It’s not perfect, and he’s not a finished product. Right now players are going under screens because the stats say to let him shoot outside. Once he has had time to develop his shot %’s then teams will try to go through screens to take the 3pt shot away which will allow him to be more effective in pick’n roll and driving for lay ins and kick outs, and will open up his passing game as well as get to the line more.

One thing I liked last night was his ability to take and hit the mid range shot instead of going all the way all out of control.
Also learning to jump off one foot will help as well. How easily is this skill learned anyways?
 
Dame is money off the dribble and bends the whole defense though... gets to the line. Guys that rely on shooting as much as he does will be susceptible to bad nights though.
Agreed, finding his way to the free throw line is going to be one of the most important things he does. Dame has terrible shooting nights pretty often. A couple weeks ago he shot like 3/17, he just adds free throws that compensate for the inefficiency. Donovan may never be very efficient, but the point:shots ratio just needs to get better with free throws. Which is fine, kid has plenty of time to grow.
 
I've been talking about him for awhile now. I'm very, very concerned with him. And I'm confused as to why he gets a free pass while everyone else gets dogged on, save for Rudy of course. Sure, he's a very likable person, but basketball comes first for me, not how much you interact with fans and get signature shoes.
 
If you're dogging on Rudy, you're barking up the wrong tree. Sure, he isn't an offensive threat on post ups or drives but he offsets that exponentially on the defensive end. He flat shuts the paint down 90% of the time. Even when he gets beat, or pulled out he recovers at a very high rate. With all the problems this team has, Rudy doesn't figure into many of them. You get exactly what you expect from him every game with very few exceptions.
 
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