Was anyone else unimpressed with Donovan Mitchell?
I know he is good. But even when he was getting it going in the second quarter, I really wasn't too worried. Just something about his offensive game that seems like he can't lead his team into some exploding run that puts distance between them and us.
It's like, "Sure, go ahead and pull up again from 18 for another two, but you won't beat us taking those all game. We're good as long as you don't hit shooters."
I'm not saying he isn't an All-star. He is. There's just something about his hype compared to his actual play that is always a little disappointing.
I was the opposite.
We know he's a good player, All-Star, and locked defender when he wants to be.
I know he was hyped up when he got drafted, and then he basically got the same treatment as Jayson Tatum in his first year. Where everyone expected him to take that superstar leap. And while I don't think Donovan took that leap yet, (he still needs to prove he can defend consistently and improve his jump shot,) he's pretty darn close.
The 76ers and Jazz kind of remind me of the Celtics last year. The Jazz don't quite share the exemplary offensive options we had last year, but there are certainly locker room troubles, and the question is on who's the one(s) causing it?
The funny thing is the Jazz desperately need someone like Gordon Hayward. Getting someone like Hayward opens up so many ways for Donovan to score. I really like Donovan, I think he's going to be something special, plus his lateral quickness and speed/agility/first step tells me if he can improve his shooting, then he can be adequate to consistently play in today's modern NBA. He's shooting 36.9% on 3PA, so he's slightly close to league average.
I feel like you weren't too worried, because Ingles/Bogan and Conley have suddenly declined immensely. Conley was always struggling from the beginning of his acquisition, but Ingles/Bogan were on like a monstrous tear. Now?
Absolutely dreadful, the two of them have sucked. Majorly.
Props to Donovan for trying to will his team back.
Also someone said that Donovan reminds him of Monta Ellis. 100% disagree, Monta Ellis was a selfish high USG% who didn't care about defense, and didn't care about making the team better around him. He only cared about his numbers and his shots. He also took very tough shots, and mid range pull up's. Donovan? He makes it look pretty easy, there were many times where he would seal off the defender, and was basically wide open from 2. They also forced him to take 3's, which obviously worked. But when Donovan is on fire, you never know what could happen.
I mean he got 37 points while shooting 2-10 from 3, and 5-7 from FTA. That's pretty impressive in itself.