The J-Notes
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Utah Jazz: One bold prediction for every player on the roster

By Jared Woodcox

DALLAS, TX - MARCH 22: Jae Crowder #99 Donovan Mitchell #45 and Rudy Gobert #27 of the Utah Jazz look on during the game against the Dallas Mavericks on March 22, 2018 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - MARCH 22: Jae Crowder #99 Donovan Mitchell #45 and Rudy Gobert #27 of the Utah Jazz look on during the game against the Dallas Mavericks on March 22, 2018 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – JULY 18: Donovan Mitchell attends the 2018 ESPYS at Microsoft Theater on July 18, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rich Fury/WireImage)
LOS ANGELES, CA – JULY 18: Donovan Mitchell attends the 2018 ESPYS at Microsoft Theater on July 18, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rich Fury/WireImage) /

Donovan Mitchell will average 23 PPG

It goes without saying that Donovan Mitchell blew everyone, Jazz fans or otherwise, out of the water in 2017-18. Not only was he one of the frontrunners for the Rookie of the Year Award all season long, but he easily proved himself as a budding star who could very well become one of the NBA’s superstars as he continues to develop.

So is it fair to ask him to do more? Of course it is. Principally because Donovan himself is the first one to acknowledge that he can and plans to be even better next season.

I was tempted to have my bold prediction for Donovan Mitchell be that he will become an All-Star, and that may very well be the case, particularly if he does accomplish this bold prediction I’m putting in front of him, but I still decided to go a little more specific route.

I’m going out on a bold limb and predicting that Mitchell will average 23 points per game next season. Now, some might say that 23 points isn’t all that bold since it’s only 2.5 more than he put up in his rookie season. But that’s still a pretty substantial leap.

Not to mention, if Mitchell had posted 23 points per game last year, it would have put him tied with All-Star DeMar DeRozan for 11th in scoring in the NBA.  And check out this sampling of names that he would have found himself ahead of in terms of points per game – Joel Embiid, Bradley Beal, Jimmy Butler, Kemba Walker, Paul George and CJ McCollum.

If those guys didn’t top 23 points per game, that tells you how tough it is to do. Still, I think we’ll see Mitchell do it in 2018-19. He proved on a number of occasions that he’s capable of such an output, as he posted 36 games with 23 points or more last regular season, which included five games in the 30s and two in the 40s.

Not only that, but in the final three months of the regular season, he averaged nearly 23 (22.3), and averaged 24.4 in the postseason.

Doing so in those small spurts is different than maintaining it over 82 games, but I’m still pinning Donovan as a 23-point or more guy this upcoming year. Considering that he’s bound to improve and that the Jazz rely on him so much for scoring, such a mark is absolutely in his reach.

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