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Utah Jazz: Reviewing the FIBA performances of current Jazzmen + Rubio

By Jared Woodcox

BEIJING, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 14: Donovan Mitchell #5 of the USA Men's National Team against Team Poland during the 2019 FIBA World Cup Classification 7-8 at the Cadillac Arena on September 14, 2019 in Beijing, China. Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
BEIJING, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 14: Donovan Mitchell #5 of the USA Men's National Team against Team Poland during the 2019 FIBA World Cup Classification 7-8 at the Cadillac Arena on September 14, 2019 in Beijing, China. Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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BEIJING, CHINA – SEPTEMBER 14: Donovan Mitchell #5 of the USA Men’s National Team against Team Poland during the 2019 FIBA World Cup Classification 7-8 at the Cadillac Arena on September 14, 2019 in Beijing, China. 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 2019 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
BEIJING, CHINA – SEPTEMBER 14: Donovan Mitchell #5 of the USA Men’s National Team against Team Poland during the 2019 FIBA World Cup Classification 7-8 at the Cadillac Arena on September 14, 2019 in Beijing, China. 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 2019 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Donovan Mitchell

Considering that Donovan Mitchell’s USA squad ended up with the country’s worst-ever finish in a FIBA World Cup or World Championship, it could be easy to find criticisms of him. Nevertheless, I find myself feeling quite encouraged with his play now that all is said and done despite his team’s end result.

Sure, there are a few things that remain a bit concerning such as questionable efficiency and an over-reliance on the three, but Donovan showed far more positive than negative. In reality, even though he had some poor efficiency games, overall he ended up rounding out quite nicely with a field goal percentage of 46.6 percent and a three-point clip of 40.5 percent, which is far better than he finished last season with. That perimeter shooting mark ended up second only to Joe Harris.

The fact that Mitchell was the second-best three-point shooter for Team USA is certainly an indicator of how much shooting the roster lacked, but it was still an encouraging sign for the Jazz youngster.

Throughout the tournament, Mitchell was sometimes criticized for not shouldering the scoring load that was expected of him. He finished averaging 13.1 points per game, which was considerably bolstered by his 29-point explosion against France. As low as 13.1 may seem to some, it was actually the second-highest mark on Team USA and was more a testament to the squad as a whole being a low-scoring unit and to the differences of the FIBA game.

And Donovan’s scoring throughout FIBA actually revealed two really positive aspects, if you ask me. First, he showed that when needed, he was still very capable of going off as he did in the game against France. Had he received the ball more in the fourth quarter of that game (that’s a whole different story), he very well might have been able to officially carry his team to an all-important win over France.

But it also showed that Mitchell can perform other roles within an offense as needed rather than just being a constant scorer. His passing in FIBA play, in my mind, was the most impressive aspect of his game. He finished with the most total assists (40) on Team USA and trailed only Kemba Walker in assists per game (5.0 versus 5.4).

He expertly set up his teammates and did an exceptional job of getting others involved. The past two years in Utah, Donovan has been heavily relied upon to be Utah’s principal scorer. He likely still will be this upcoming season to some extent, as those explosion games will most certainly still be warranted at times.

But with new teammates such as Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic, Donovan is going to have far more help around him than he’s accustomed to. With that being the case, the passing ability he showed in FIBA play will become all the more crucial with such prolific running-mates at his side.

While there are some that want to see Mitchell take a further leap in points per game from his second season, if he’s able to improve in terms of efficiency and assists per game with his points remaining largely in the same range, I’d be absolutely thrilled. He showed that ability to quite an extent during FIBA play, which could be a good sign for what lies ahead in his third season with the Utah Jazz.

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