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Is this the years DM finally sheds

I

idestroyedthetoilet

Well-Known Member
The chucker moniker?

Out of the 55 players who scored at least 17 ppg last season, only D'Angelo Russell and 5 others did so with worse efficiency. Extend this down to 15 ppg+, and Donovan Mitchell is still just 73rd out of 84 Players.

Last season DM did a great job of improving 3 point %, going from 34% to a reasonable 36.2% on high volume but his overall efficiency still dipped slightly. He takes nearly a quarter of his field goals in the 3-10 foot range and shot poorly there, just 34%. This is because Donovan hasn't figured out how to draw and play through contact well enough to get to the free throw line at an All Star's clip. He gets stuck in no mans midrange land and all too often finds himself throwing up an offbalance prayer. Working to get better at getting his defender stuck on his back might help draw more shooting fouls in this area, but it's probably his floater that needs the most work. He always seems to be forcing it hard as opposed to the effortless looking motion Harden uses. It's a floater, not a ball on a frozen rope.
 
Aside from trying to nitpick your post I’ll just answer.

Yes, I think Mitchell increases his efficiency. It will be led by improved %s at the rim and 3 point line.
 
yamers said:
I dont think he was hurt, i think he was out of shape. He spent summer in a boot.
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Well, this is a cool story. But you’re wrong. It’s been covered and mentioned repeatedly by Jazz media guys.
 
He’s going to make an All-NBA team so people can call him whatever they want.
 
Stoked said:
Well, this is a cool story. But you’re wrong. It’s been covered and mentioned repeatedly by Jazz media guys.
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Which would mean he was both poorly conditioned and injured.

I remember mentioning how obvious it was that he wasn’t right physically and that notion being mocked. It was clear as day.

He had no offseason, no help, and no spacing, yet he somehow improved through the year, including doubling his free throws by April.

He’s coming into this offseason healthy, hungry, and with help he’s never remotely had. The likely-main lineup will feature four decent-to-great ballhandlers that are also great-to-elite spot-up shooters, with the best picks being set in the league by an elite roll-man and offensive rebounder.

Donovan could and I believe will improve his production on fewer shots. He seems completely self-aware of the chucker label, but every indication is that he’s been instructed to be as aggressive as possible. Either that aggressiveness will be more fruitful, he won’t need to be as aggressive, or both.
 
Mark my words, he's gonna be a beast next year. I see him averaging like 27 PPG on like 45/46% FG, 38% 3FG, and more FT attempts. I think he'll make the All Star game, be an All NBA selection, and maybe MAYBE even be in the MVP discussion. He is going to be so much better now that defenses can't load up on him.
 
idestroyedthetoilet said:
The chucker moniker?

Out of the 55 players who scored at least 17 ppg last season, only D'Angelo Russell and 5 others did so with worse efficiency. Extend this down to 15 ppg+, and Donovan Mitchell is still just 73rd out of 84 Players.

Last season DM did a great job of improving 3 point %, going from 34% to a reasonable 36.2% on high volume but his overall efficiency still dipped slightly. He takes nearly a quarter of his field goals in the 3-10 foot range and shot poorly there, just 34%. This is because Donovan hasn't figured out how to draw and play through contact well enough to get to the free throw line at an All Star's clip. He gets stuck in no mans midrange land and all too often finds himself throwing up an offbalance prayer. Working to get better at getting his defender stuck on his back might help draw more shooting fouls in this area, but it's probably his floater that needs the most work. He always seems to be forcing it hard as opposed to the effortless looking motion Harden uses. It's a floater, not a ball on a frozen rope.
Click to expand...

Started typing a lengthy response, then realized that, if this was your takeaway of last season, it was largely pointless.
 
idestroyedthetoilet said:
The chucker moniker?

Out of the 55 players who scored at least 17 ppg last season, only D'Angelo Russell and 5 others did so with worse efficiency. Extend this down to 15 ppg+, and Donovan Mitchell is still just 73rd out of 84 Players.

Last season DM did a great job of improving 3 point %, going from 34% to a reasonable 36.2% on high volume but his overall efficiency still dipped slightly. He takes nearly a quarter of his field goals in the 3-10 foot range and shot poorly there, just 34%. This is because Donovan hasn't figured out how to draw and play through contact well enough to get to the free throw line at an All Star's clip. He gets stuck in no mans midrange land and all too often finds himself throwing up an offbalance prayer. Working to get better at getting his defender stuck on his back might help draw more shooting fouls in this area, but it's probably his floater that needs the most work. He always seems to be forcing it hard as opposed to the effortless looking motion Harden uses. It's a floater, not a ball on a frozen rope.
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He’s not a chucker end of thread
 
what everyone else said, not to mention at least 4 or 5 shots a game were bailout passes to him with < 5 seconds on the clock.
 
NUMBERICA said:
Which would mean he was both poorly conditioned and injured.

I remember mentioning how obvious it was that he wasn’t right physically and that notion being mocked. It was clear as day.

He had no offseason, no help, and no spacing, yet he somehow improved through the year, including doubling his free throws by April.

He’s coming into this offseason healthy, hungry, and with help he’s never remotely had. The likely-main lineup will feature four decent-to-great ballhandlers that are also great-to-elite spot-up shooters, with the best picks being set in the league by an elite roll-man and offensive rebounder.

Donovan could and I believe will improve his production on fewer shots. He seems completely self-aware of the chucker label, but every indication is that he’s been instructed to be as aggressive as possible. Either that aggressiveness will be more fruitful, he won’t need to be as aggressive, or both.
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I think he will too but I want to emphasize that increasing efficiency is hard for many players. Early years are more typical of who they end up being. Guys like Bradley Beal did it, although he's a bit all over the map just like LeBron has been throughout his career. A whole lot of guys like DeRozan, although good, couldn't ever increase efficiency to an elite level.

Also, DM's supposed in-season progression last season was up and down: .54, .51, .473, .566, .504, .569, .614 (low sample, end of season).
 
Not a knock on DM but I do think there’s a chance his raw numbers aren’t as high as we are thinking. I could see him being around 22-23 pts on really nice efficiency... we have more weapons and the ball should be spread around a bit more. I’m curious to see what he looks like in space.

I’m curious to see how things are allocated... I doubt DM’s offense gets lost in the shuffle but there might be a slow start to the season or times when he’s balancing looking for his shot aggressively and deferring to others.

I think he will be improved and life should be easier but there will be new challenges.
 
FWIW, yes. Dude was better overall last season and turned on the jets towards the end. Utah doesn't go apesnot in the off season unless they felt he be a bit more of "The Guy" for the team. Regardless, he's the first true #1 option on Utah that I could recall for a long, long time. Dude can hit anyway, create his own shot at will, and is now surrounded by players who compliment his style, including a legitimate #2 guy (or #1a) in Conley to take the pressure off.
 
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Handlogten's Heros said:
Not a knock on DM but I do think there’s a chance his raw numbers aren’t as high as we are thinking. I could see him being around 22-23 pts on really nice efficiency... we have more weapons and the ball should be spread around a bit more. I’m curious to see what he looks like in space.

I’m curious to see how things are allocated... I doubt DM’s offense gets lost in the shuffle but there might be a slow start to the season or times when he’s balancing looking for his shot aggressively and deferring to others.

I think he will be improved and life should be easier but there will be new challenges.
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I said as much in my stats prediction. I don't see him jumping much in points. If we're being honest, I'd probably say maybe he scores a shade less, but it's hard to argue that. So I ended up with a bump in less than a point per game.
 
TheStormofWar said:
FWIW, yes. Dude was better overall last season and turned on the jets towards the end. Utah doesn't go apes*** in the off season unless they felt he be a bit more of "The Guy" for the team. Regardless, he's the first true #1 option on Utah that I could recall for a long, long time. Dude can hit anyway, create his own shot at will, and is now surrounded by players who compliment his style, including a legitimate #2 guy (or #1a) in Conley to take the pressure off.
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@colton alert.
 
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