Donovan Mitchell is having one of the best shooting stretches of his career. We could chalk that up to experience, maturity, confidence or any other abstract motivator. But, as with many things the Jazz are accomplishing this season, Mitchell credits what happened in the Orlando bubble for the success he’s experiencing in 2021.
Through the 13 games that Mitchell played in Orlando last summer (seeding games and postseason), Mitchell shot 45.8% from 3-point range. He shot a staggering 51.6% from deep during the playoff series against the Denver Nuggets.
“The way I shot the ball in the bubble, the shots I was getting the looks I was getting, I really took that film and said ‘alright, how can I get the shots and how can I get these looks throughout the regular season?’” Mitchell said. “So I’m kind of finding them in different ways and that’s what you’re seeing now.”
In particular you might have noticed that Mitchell has been shooting particularly well on pullups and stepbacks recently. It’s not as if those are shots that are new for Mitchell, but they’re definitely shots that he’s been working on and specifically hunting.
“He can score the ball, but I know he takes a lot of pride in playing the right way and finding his teammates.” — Jazz coach Quin Snyder
In Mitchell’s last eight games he’s hitting at a combined 54% on 3-point pullups and stepbacks. And sure, there might be easier looks that he could get right now, but this is all calculated practice. He didn’t need to take a jab step corner 3 against the Orlando Magic in a blowout win, but that could be a shot that’ll need to be taken against a tougher opponent in the playoffs.
“Finding ways to get shots that, maybe not so much in this game, but I’m going to have to make and have to take in games coming up and playoffs,” Mitchell said. “That’s really where my mind is with those.”
That’s how this whole season has been built and worked through, not just by Mitchell, but the whole team. Everything is done with the playoffs and a title run in mind, and it’s not necessarily the shot selection or even the type of shot that Mitchell is most pleased with. It’s the decision-making.
“Through the course of the game coverages can change, different opportunities can present themselves with where other guys are on the floor and he’s an unselfish player,” Jazz head coach Quin Snyder said of Mitchell. “He can score the ball, but I know he takes a lot of pride in playing the right way and finding his teammates.”
Mitchell has always been capable of shooting the types of shots that he is currently taking at a higher volume. The way he sees it, he’s just taking more and making more. But the way that he’s reading the defense, passing out of blitzes, and having a greater understanding for when the right time is to take a stepback, attack or pass the ball is where he feels the most progress has been made.
“Those little things for me are something that I really get excited about,” he said. “ I would say this is probably my best stretch, but I’m trying to get to a point where we don’t call them stretches anymore, it’s years, yearly, it’s career it’s not just a stretch. That’s really what I’m trying to get to.”
On the season Mitchell is shooting 40.4% from the 3-point line, a career high, has matched his career-best average in rebounds (set last season) with 4.4 per game, and is averaging a career-high 5.5 assists per game.