Utah Jazz: Donovan Mitchell turning it around in January

After struggling early on, Donovan Mitchell appears to have regained his confidence in helping the Utah Jazz re-establish themselves out West.

Coming off a surprise appearance in the second round of the playoffs, much was expected of both the Utah Jazz and Donovan Mitchell heading into the 2018-19 season.

Despite having never experienced it before, Mitchell was phenomenal in the 2018 NBA Playoffs, averaging 24.4 points per game while going toe-to-toe with some of the league’s top players like Russell Westbrook and James Harden. The NBA world couldn’t wait to see what the future held for one of its brightest young stars.

Early on in the new season, it wasn’t so much that Mitchell was struggling outside of his efficiency. He was still averaging over 20 points per game. Rather, due to the high bar he set as a rookie, it seemed as though he’d failed to take the progressive next step so many players do in their second season, partially due to his newfound stardom.

As the headline attraction, he could no longer sneak up on opponents. Everyone knew of his gifts, and everyone’s defense was geared to stop them. He’d have to deal with the opposition’s best defender and face more double-teams than ever. Such is the burden of stardom, one he’d have to get used in order to improve.

It didn’t help that Utah had one of the toughest schedules to begin the season, a big reason it started off 18-19 heading into the new year. No matter how elite a team is, they need games sprinkled throughout the calendar they can count on for easy wins. The Jazz didn’t have that. Every night was another playoff contender.

Call it a successful New Year’s resolution so far, because Mitchell has been superb in 2019 and the Jazz have followed his lead. They’ve won nine of their last 12 outings, with Spida averaging 28.3 points and 4.9 assists per game while shooting 46.5 percent from the field and 42.5 percent from beyond the arc.

Utah also ranks fifth in both 3-pointers made and attempted in January, an uptick over the previous months. The Jazz have been led by Mitchell’s 37 makes, already the most he’s hit in any single month so far this season and still with three games left to play.

After those first few months of relative struggles, he appears to have become calloused to the numerous defenses being thrown at him night after night. Following such an awesome NBA introduction, he likely felt pressure to provide a suitable encore. Only now, that’s not important. What matters is playing hard on every possession and making sure he lets the game and its opportunities come to him instead of the other way around.

The Jazz are no super-team, but they’re no slouch either. They’re a well-coached unit with plenty of hard-nosed veteran players, none of which seem afraid to create confrontations from time to time. Vivint Smart Home Arena has some of the loudest fans for one of the best defensive squads in the league.

It was more than likely Donovan Mitchell would manage to fix his struggles. He’s proven too talented not to. If he keeps up this level of improved play through the rest of the season and heading into the playoffs, the Jazz will have an offensive focal point to go along with their elite defense that will make them a team nobody wants to face.