Donovan Mitchell's lack of free throw drawing ability and Don's lack of defensive effort.
So far Mitchell is at a career low .140% FTR. His peak % was .26% (his 2nd year). If he wants to be a consistently impactful offensive force (like a Lillard), and not just a microwave scorer, he will have to get much better in this department. There are enough examples of star players improving in this area in their mid to late 20's, so I'm not super concerned about it, but it is worrisome that he has come out the gate with signs at a regression.
And his defensive is putrid. It's gotten worse every year, which is inexplicable because his offensive load has gotten smaller each year. So far he's off to a terrible start on this end as well. At worst Donovan should be a neutral defender, but with his talent he should be an impactful defender. The excuse of playing next to Conley is complete and utter *********, especially when Conley is playing solid defense.
For the Jazz to be true contenders Mitchell has to be a clear cut top 20 player, at bare minimum, not just a guy who gets hot enough to masquerade as a top 20 player. That starts with getting easier points and being engaged defensively.
Overall I do believe Mitchell will eventually reach that ability level at drawing fouls, at least to the point where he is consistently in the low 30% for FTR, but I'm less sure on the defensive end. Both are equally as important and just arent things he can flip a switch on.
So far Mitchell is at a career low .140% FTR. His peak % was .26% (his 2nd year). If he wants to be a consistently impactful offensive force (like a Lillard), and not just a microwave scorer, he will have to get much better in this department. There are enough examples of star players improving in this area in their mid to late 20's, so I'm not super concerned about it, but it is worrisome that he has come out the gate with signs at a regression.
And his defensive is putrid. It's gotten worse every year, which is inexplicable because his offensive load has gotten smaller each year. So far he's off to a terrible start on this end as well. At worst Donovan should be a neutral defender, but with his talent he should be an impactful defender. The excuse of playing next to Conley is complete and utter *********, especially when Conley is playing solid defense.
For the Jazz to be true contenders Mitchell has to be a clear cut top 20 player, at bare minimum, not just a guy who gets hot enough to masquerade as a top 20 player. That starts with getting easier points and being engaged defensively.
Overall I do believe Mitchell will eventually reach that ability level at drawing fouls, at least to the point where he is consistently in the low 30% for FTR, but I'm less sure on the defensive end. Both are equally as important and just arent things he can flip a switch on.
