The rubric in this exercise is not complicated. We found the top 5 shooting guards in the NBA in points per game, ranked them according to TS%, and then took the average between those two placements to come up with a final ranking.
Readers could criticize these rudimentary criteria. After all, isn’t it advantageous to have a shooting guard with added passing ability? Shouldn’t defense be a factor? Does anybody care about rebounds per game in 2021?
All fair questions, however, the name of each of these players’ games is scoring. None of the five top scoring 2-guards have a particular reputation for either passing or defense. The two most important questions to ask about the following players are: how often do they score, and how efficiently do they do it?
We’ll add a caveat that James Harden, probably the most reputable NBA player who anyone could call a shooting guard, was excluded from these rankings. His statistical profile closely resembles that of a point guard’s this season, and he is listed as a SG/PG on Basketball Reference. In short, we consider him a point guard (particularly in Kyrie Irving’s absence).
Having established that, here’s where Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell ranks among the league’s top shooting guards in 2021-22 so far.
a top tier bucket-getter</a> in Donovan Mitchell. While both his volume (26.4 to 24.0 points per game) and efficiency (56.9 to 54.3 True Shooting %) have both taken a dip this season, 24.0 points per game on a 54.3 True Shooting % (TS%) remains nothing to sneeze at. </span>There’s no question that Mitchell is an elite scoring guard. The question is, how elite is he in comparison to his peers?</p>
<p>The rubric in this exercise is not complicated. We found the top 5 shooting guards in the NBA in points per game, ranked them according to TS%, and then took the average between those two placements to come up with a final ranking.</p>
<p>Readers could criticize these rudimentary criteria. After all, isn’t it advantageous to have a shooting guard with added passing ability? Shouldn’t defense be a factor? Does <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/24/utah-jazz-ranking-donovan-mitchell/"https://www.si.com/nba/2021/03/25/andre-drummond-rebounding-daily-cover" target="_blank" rel="noopener">anybody care about rebounds per game in 2021?</a></p>
<p>All fair questions, however, the name of each of these players’ games is scoring. None of the five top scoring 2-guards have a particular reputation for either passing or defense. The two most important questions to ask about the following players are: how often do they score, and how efficiently do they do it?</p>
<p>We’ll add a caveat that James Harden, probably the most reputable NBA player who anyone could call a shooting guard, was excluded from these rankings. His statistical profile closely resembles that of a point guard’s this season, and he is listed as a SG/PG on Basketball Reference. In short, we consider him a point guard (particularly in Kyrie Irving’s absence).</p>
<p>Having established that, here’s where Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell ranks among the league’s top shooting guards in 2021-22 so far.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/24/utah-jazz-ranking-donovan-mitchell/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 5. Anthony Edwards / Bradley Beal (Tie) </a>
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considerably deeper (and less top-heavy)</a> Utah Jazz offense. Booker is having a good year: Mitchell is simply having a better one.</p>
<p>Interestingly enough, Booker’s three-point efficiency (38.5% on 6.1 attempts per game) has hit a new high, while his overall field goal percentage has suffered (43.7%, down from 48.4% last season). It’s hard to make any meaningful conclusions about that trend, but it is worth monitoring as the season progresses.</p>
<p>In terms of the eye test, Booker is a purist’s dream on the floor. He’s a three-level scorer with beautiful shot mechanics and a smooth handle. Phoenix Suns fans probably won’t mourn his placement below his Utah Jazz rival, with their team sitting 14-3 and fresh off of an NBA Finals appearance.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/24/utah-jazz-ranking-donovan-mitchell/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 2. Donovan Mitchell </a>
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Jordan Clarkson</a>, and Bojan Bogdanovic is all the more impressive. This offense runs deep, but there’s no question about who sits atop of it.</p>
<p>Mitchell’s combination of speed and balance makes it virtually impossible to stop him from getting to the basket. Unfortunately, his three-point efficiency has fallen off a cliff this season. He’s shooting 32.2% on 9.5 attempts per contest. Last season, he shot a considerably more impressive 38.6% on 8.2 attempts per game.</p>
<p>All it would take for Mitchell to climb to the top of these rankings would be to bump his three-point efficiency back up to last year’s standard. His decline from an above-average three-point shooter to a below-average one is significant.</p>
<p>Utah Jazz fans can only hope that it’s not permanent.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #00265D" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/11/24/utah-jazz-ranking-donovan-mitchell/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 1. Zach Lavine </a>
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<span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Do the Utah Jazz have a Jordan Clarkson problem? </a> </div>
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<p>Zach Lavine’s placement over Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell in these rankings should not bother Jazz fans. They’re comparable players. If Mitchell starts knocking down threes with more consistency, we may be forced to revisit these rankings by the season’s end.</p><!—pageview_candidate—></p>">