Shelvin Mack’s Poor Decision Making
Shelvin Mack played a crucial role for the Jazz last season when he came over in a late-season trade to help bolster what was a dire point guard situation. While he’s had his moments this year including a handful of double figure games, at times his presence on the court can be irritating.
Similarly to Lyles, at times it feels like Mack just tries to do too much, keeps the ball in one place for too long and doesn’t utilize his teammates quite as he should. For being just a 32.5 percent career three-point shooter, he sure seems to take a lot of threes.
I don’t mind when they’re good looks, as Shelvin does have the ability to get hot such as in his 14-point outing against the Spurs or season-high 17-point outing against Memphis, but oftentimes his threes and other midrange shots feel forced.
Nobody hits a #MACU3 quite like our own Shelvin MACK(U)! https://t.co/LHS3nz6yQx
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) November 15, 2016
Also, sometimes Mack looks unsure of what to do with the ball while he’s on the court and has been guilty of not only bad shots but also poor passes this season. He currently has the third most turnovers on the team and the most of any Jazz guard.
Utah’s loss to Charlotte was perhaps the most frustrating of Mack’s performances and best embodied what I’m trying to explain. Not only did he shoot just 3-of-11 from the field in that game after getting the nod as a starter, but he was a huge part of the Jazz’s fourth quarter collapse which saw Hornets point guard Kemba Walker go off while the Jazz faltered.
On defense he couldn’t do anything to slow Kemba. On offense, Mack looked completely uncomfortable and unable to deal with the pressure of that tight fourth quarter. While it’s unfair to compare him to a stud like George Hill who has been so clutch under pressure, Utah will need to have a much more efficient and better decision-making point guard coming off the bench than what Mack has provided thus far.
There’s no questioning why Dante Exum has recently taken over the starting spot point guard spot in George Hill’s absence and unless Mack can shore up these critical areas, it appears that trend is only likely to continue.