Mitchell much improved from a season ago
If there were an award for most improved player that was awarded solely for a turnaround comparing the second half of a season to the first half of the season, Donovan Mitchell could very well be a candidate. His post-All-Star numbers were incredibly better than those prior to the break. He upped his points per game from 22.4 to 26.7, his field goal percentage from 41.8 to 46.1 and his 3-point percentage from 32.2 to 45.1.
In the month of April, he put up a whopping 28.4 points per contest on 50 percent shooting from deep. Make no mistake about it, Spida is playoff ready. And he’s shown it in every single way. Along those lines, he’s clearly a much more polished player than a year ago in the series against Houston when he averaged just 19.4 points and shot 36 percent from the field and 25 percent from three.
Mitchell’s much more comfortable playing at the one or two spot, has improved incredibly as a decision maker and playmaker, and will be primed to step up to whatever task the Jazz need of him. His efficiency was down in last year’s playoff series against Houston, but if his recent hyper-efficiency is any indication, he’s in for a great series. And as a result, the Jazz should prove much more dangerous than they’re getting credit for.
Not only that, but he won’t have nearly as daunting of individual matchups to have to score against. Which brings us to our next point…