It’s still early but Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz have the NBA’s best record.
Remember when Shaquille O’Neal “challenged” Donovan Mitchell’s ability to be the best player on a championship team? Since then (and even before then) the Utah Jazz have quietly been the NBA’s hottest team. As of February 9th, Mitchell’s Jazz sit at 19-5 overall holding the league’s best record, while holding onto first place in the Western Conference.
Inside the Utah Jazz’s winning streak
The Jazz have won 15 of their last 16 games, with their lone loss coming to their new-found nemesis, the Denver Nuggets. Before that they had won 10 straight games, giving them the longest win streak on the young season.
Seeding is nothing but a number at this point, with still more than half of the season remaining. But to be in first place in a conference that includes LeBron James & Anthony Davis as well as Kawhi Leonard & Paul George is no small feat.
During that stretch, Mitchell has played incredible basketball. After being criticized for not doing “enough” he’s averaged 24.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game and has done so in an incredibly efficient manner. He has shot at a 46% clip from the field while hitting 47% of his three-point shots (111 total attempts).
He’s also maintained a 10.9 +/- while playing in 14 of the 16 games during that stretch, which is a big deal considering he has the 11th highest usage rating (according to StatMuse).
Also trending now on State of Louisville: Cards’ defense trending upwards at the right time?
While Mitchell’s performance has been steady and nothing short of All-Star level, it’s not the driving force behind the Jazz’s success. Instead, as you might expect, it’s been the team’s defense. The Jazz currently have e top three NBA defense across the board. Here’s a breakdown:
Jazz 2020-21 defensive statistics:
*Courtesy of Lineups.com
- Points allowed: 3rd
- 3PT allowed: 2
- Opposing FG%: 2nd
- Opposing 3pt%: 5
- Defensive rating: 3rd
- Blocks: 6th
It’s like the rest of the Jazz’s roster heard the loud cry from Louisville basketball fans to trade Mitchell or get him more help following the teams playoff exit. Guys like Jordan Clarkson, Mike Conley Jr., Bojan Bogdanovic, Royce O’Neale, and yes, Rudy Gobert, have all played some of the best basketball of their careers. Clarkson has to be the leading candidate at this point for the Sixth Man of the Year award, averaging a career-high 17.5 points per game. While Gobert, Conley, and O’Neale could all make legitimate claims to be First Team All-Defense if the season ended today.
Donovan Mitchell’s game is evolving
As for Mitchell, his game is evolving right in front of our eyes this season. As teams are game-planning for him, they are doing everything they can to make shots at the rim extremely difficult. As we’ve seen over his career, Mitchell is lethal in the paint thanks to his athleticism, length, and crafty moves.
So far this season that seems to be working. Mitchell has shot 254 times (Jan 8-Feb 8) connecting 118 times, with an average of 1.14 points per shot. At the rim, he has 58 attempts of which he’s made just 29 total (23%). Not great for a guy known for dunking like this. But this season, he’s looked more like this..
Where he’s elevated his game is from behind the three-point line. Mitchell has 111 attempts over the last 30 days, of which hes connected on 53 of for a 44% average. That’s 8 percentage points better than the 36% of three’s he’s connected on thus far in his career. Crazy huh?
Donovan Mitchell is making teams pay
Well, as teams have begun to back off of Donnie in an attempt to cut off his driving lanes he’s becoming more comfortable with pulling up from deep. Having averaged fewer than 7 total three-point attempts per game zero times since his rookie season, Mitchell is averaging a career-high 8.4 three-point attempts per game. Coincidentally, he’s also averaging a career-high 3.5 makes per game and has five games of hitting 5 or more three’s.
The Jazz are going to have a difficult time keeping the Clippers & Lakers off their backs at the top of the West over the final four months of the season. In fact, I doubt they’ll be able to. I also have worries about being able to defeat the top teams in a playoff series without another star on the team – but that’s a battle for another day.
For now, let’s enjoy Mitchell sitting in first place ahead of Lebron James and Kawhi Leonard.
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