The J-Notes
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Utah Jazz: One goal for every Jazzman in 2018-19

By Jared Woodcox

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - JULY 5: Donovan Mitchell #45 and Royce O'Neale #23 of the Utah Jazz attend the 2018 Utah Summer League game between the Atlanta Hawks and the Utah Jazz on July 5, 2018 at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - JULY 5: Donovan Mitchell #45 and Royce O'Neale #23 of the Utah Jazz attend the 2018 Utah Summer League game between the Atlanta Hawks and the Utah Jazz on July 5, 2018 at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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HOUSTON, TX – MAY 8: Trevor Ariza #1 of the Houston Rockets hugs Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz after winning the game during Game Five of the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on May 8, 2018 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Donovan Mitchell – Get more efficient

It’s so hard to be critical at all of Donovan Mitchell‘s game when he at times nearly single-handedly willed the Jazz to victory. His pros well outweighed his cons, especially for a first-year player who blew everyone’s expectations out of the water.

Still, as a professional who’s always looking to up his game, Donovan would be the first to tell you that he has a ton of work still to do in order to elevate his game to where he wants it to be. There’s a number of things you could point out where Mitchell could get better, but I’d say his biggest goal for next season has to be to get more efficient.

Donovan put up plenty of stats last season that were mind-blowing, beginning with his 20.5 points per game. Especially when you dive a little deeper to look more at his advanced impact, it’s breath-taking what he was able to do as a rookie.

However, his shooting percentages don’t exactly fall in that category. 43.7 percent from the field is respectable, but 34 percent from deep leaves something to be desired. Donovan Mitchell set a new rookie record for most made threes in a season, so it’s obvious that he can hit them, but for him to truly become a daunting threat, he’ll need to do so at a higher clip.

While he was undoubtedly one of Utah’s heroes in the playoffs, his efficiency went down even further in the postseason – 42 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from behind the arc.

As I mentioned, it’s hard to knock Mitchell when he did so very much for the Jazz last season. But in order for him to take yet another leap, one of his principal goals has to be to raise his efficiency.

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