How Donovan Mitchell Raised His Efficiency

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – One week into the season, Donovan Mitchell has raised his scoring efficiency. 

The two major questions that faced the Jazz this summer were whether the team’s defense could maintain its top-five status without Derrick Favors, and whether Mitchell could take the next step towards superstardom. 

Taking that step revolved around not just maintaining his 20 points-per-game scoring average, but raising the efficiency with which he scores — through four games, Mitchell has answered the bell. 

How has Mitchell done it?

Mitchell has raised his effective field goal percentage from 49 percent last season to over 56 percent this year. 

Counter to modern theory, Mitchell has upped his percentages while cutting down on his three point attempts, and raising the number of shots he takes inside the arc. 

That includes mid-range jumpers. 

Mitchell has raised the percentage of shots he takes from inside the arc to from 66 percent to 77 percent, and dropping his three point attempts from 34 percent to 23 percent. 

While he has raised the percentage of shots he takes at the rim from 22 to 26 percent, he’s also raised his shots from 10-16 feet from 13 to 16 percent. 

Mitchell increased his shots from 16 feet to the three point line from seven percent to 13 percent.

Curiously, Mitchell’s field goal percentage inside of three feet has dropped from 62 percent last season to just 55 percent this year. 

Improving Shooting Percentages

Mitchell has drastically improved his shooting between 3-10 feet. 

The Jazz’s leading scorer made just 34 percent of his shots at that distance last year, and has seen that number jump to 56 percent this season. The majority of these shots are floaters Mitchell has to take when getting into the paint, but having to force a shot over a rim protector rather than getting all the way to the rim. 

🕷@spidadmitchell🕷 pic.twitter.com/5bq5fMO8P6

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 26, 2019

Surprisingly, it’s not that Mitchell has eliminated taking those tougher shots, he’s simply hitting them at a higher percentage.

Last year, 24 percent of Mitchell’s shots came from 3-10 feet, this year it’s a nearly identical 23 percent. 

Perhaps the biggest reason Mitchell has seen his shooting percentage increase is the spacing he’s finding inside the arc. Last season, Mitchell found himself without a defender within 4-6 feet on just 7.4 percent of his two point shots — this year, that number has increased to 14.3 percent.

The Jazz focused on adding shooters around Mitchell this summer, when they added Bojan Bogdanovic and Jeff Green.  

The second biggest jump in field goal percentage has come from beyond the three point line. Mitchell has raised his completion percentage from 36 to 43 percent. 

Spida scores ≋b≋i≋g≋ ≋b≋u≋c≋k≋e≋t≋s≋ pic.twitter.com/8hgOQO8mhz

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 29, 2019

The third year guard has dropped the number of three point attempts per game from 6.7 last year, to just four per game this season, and his success rate has risen dramatically.

Will It Continue?

Through four games, Mitchell appears to have taken the step forward in his efficiency that was required to make the jump to superstardom. 

The problem? Four games is far too small of a sample size to draw a conclusion from. 

The good news? Mitchell’s efficiency stretches back to the second half of last season. Mitchell’s effective field goal percentage was 53 percent over the final 24 games of the season last year. That number was just 47 before the All-Star break. 

Two questions faced the Jazz this summer. Can the Jazz maintain their defensive prowess with the loss of Favors, and can Mitchell raise his offensive game? 

The Jazz currently holding the top defensive ranking in the league, and Mitchell is shooting the ball as well as he ever has.