Positive No. 2 – A Top Scorer for Team USA
Despite Mitchell’s efficiency woes, he’s still been a bright point for the American squad on offense as one of the team’s leading scorers. Until Sunday’s contest where he put up just six points (but also dropped an incredible seven assists in what was more of a facilitating game for him), Mitchell was the second-leading scorer on the team, trailing only Kemba Walker.
Mitchell dropped a little bit since then, but only slightly as he remains the team’s fourth-leading scorer with 10.2 points per game, third-leading scorer if you exclude Jayson Tatum who has missed the last three games with injury. The Americans only have four players averaging double figures, so having Mitchell as a part of that group is significant.
Sure, it was expected by many that he would carry a heavier scoring load than he has thus far, so a further uptick in that category while moving back into second place on the team in points per game may very well be vital for the elimination bracket ahead. But Mitchell is doing a great job of filling his role and involving his teammates instead of merely looking out for his own.
And while some may be quick to criticize the 10.2 points per game as a low figure, they’d do well to remember that the FIBA game is far different, most notably in that the games are shorter and that these teams are comprised of multiple scorers all chipping in to a similar degree.
If anyone’s too concerned about the perceived low points per game, they’d do well to notice that Kemba is averaging just 14.6 despite putting up 25.6 last NBA season, reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo averaged only 14.8 in group play after posting 27.7 last season and All-Star Nikola Jokic averaged just 12.7 before being eliminated despite scoring 20.1 for the Denver Nuggets last year.
In other words, the low scoring figures should be taken with a grain of salt and aren’t translatable to the NBA game or level. With such being the case, the mere fact that Mitchell remains near the top of Team USA’s scoring leaders is a great sign for his progress and impact.