Recently, The Ringer published a very interesting article about Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell. Consider this article a direct response.
In his piece, Jonathan Tjarks argues that the Jazz need to (we’re paraphrasing slightly) give Donovan Mitchell the ball. Frankly, it’s hard to argue otherwise. Tjarks sights a lot of good stats that ought to have fans of the Utah Jazz doing a double take. Here’s an excerpt:
“(Mitchell) is tied for no. 39 in touches per game (69.1) and no. 23 in average time of possession (5.8 minutes). He shares the ball with Mike Conley Jr. in the starting lineup and runs the show on his own when he sits. When he plays with Conley, his job is to wait for his turn to put up shots and then put them up quickly”.
Is that an optimal role for Mitchell?
Should Utah Jazz put the ball in the hands of their best player?
The concept of a “point guard” has changed radically over the past few years. Gone are the days of John Stockton when a floor general’s first, second and third responsibility was to set up their teammates. In today’s NBA, point guards score, and few players in the league do that as well as Donovan Mitchell.
The term “heliocentric offense” has become a buzz phrase in certain NBA circles, but it’s really just an academic way of saying a team grants an elite offensive player an extremely high usage rate. At 32.4%, Mitchell’s Usage Rate ranks sixth among NBA players who have seen at least 200 minutes of action this year.
In other words, it’s not the frequency of Mitchell’s usage that could change, it’s the way he’s being used. In his article, Tjarks shares some illuminating stats about Mitchell’s performance when he’s not sharing the floor with veteran point guard Mike Conley.
Utah Jazz star thrives as primary ball handler
When Mitchell is on the floor with Conley, his True Shooting % (TS%) is 52.6, His Assist % is 20.5, and his Assist-to-Turnover Ratio is 1.48. Those numbers jump to 55, 31 and 2.03 when Mitchell mans the backcourt without Conley.
In other words, Mitchell is a more efficient offensive player when he’s not deferring to the long-time floor general. Conventional wisdom may dictate that Mitchell is a shooting guard, but in the modern context, we can do away with those labels. Donovan Mitchell is a lead guard, and at this stage in his career, Mike Conley may not be.
Utah Jazz veteran may already be embracing new role
That might be something that Conley is already well-aware of. This season, his Usage Rate has seen a substantial dip, from 23.1% to 18.9%. None of which is to say that Conley is no longer valuable to the Utah Jazz. He absolutely is. He’s shooting 43.5% on 5.7 three-point attempts per contest. That sort of elite floor spacing from a guy who can absolutely operate pick-and-rolls when he’s called upon to is invaluable when paired with a shot creator like Mitchell.
It may just be that the Utah Jazz should call upon the veteran floor general to do so a little less often. That could be a way to get the ball where it probably belongs: in Donovan Mitchell’s hands.