NBA: Off-season weakness each star should have worked on

23. Donovan Mitchell, SG, Utah Jazz – Shot selection

The Utah Jazz are built with perimeter shooters spread around an elite center who provides vertical gravity, hard screens and the best of rim protection on the other end. On offense everyone on the perimeter is a good passer, but only one player excels at creating his own shot.

That play is Donovan Mitchell, who has ascended from the late lottery to become one of the league’s best volume scorers. He can hit from anywhere, and has, hitting bigs shots in the playoffs and twice dropping 50 points in a postseason game. He deservedly has the green light from the team to shoot.

The problem is that he doesn’t need to. He might be the best  one-on-one scorer-type on the roster, but he is surrounded by talented players who can score well, especially in advantage situations. Mitchell deserves to lead the team in shots, but the offense would be better served, especially in the postseason, if he shared the rock a little more.

From Mike Conley to Bojan Bogdanovic to Jordan Clarkson, there are other options who can shoot off-the-catch or attack closeouts. If Mitchell gets the defense to twitch, he can swing the ball to find the open space instead of shooting every time. He is not a chronic ballhog, but when games get tight he tends to call his own number. Learning which shots to take and which shots to pass up for a better team look is vital to the Jazz shaking free of their postseason disappointments.