It’s not a mistake that Mitchell has the ball in his hands in late-game situations. A player can be clutch, can be the hero, by making the right decision and having just a couple timely buckets that spark a run and give the rest of the team confidence. It’s not always about percentages or even shooting. And in the fourth, Mitchell found different ways to attack and scored eight straight points to help the Jazz get back in front. But he fought through the defense and got to the free-throw line often, going 15 of 16 from the charity stripe. He was 0 for 9 from deep and Toronto’s defense was stifling. In a close and physical game against the Toronto Raptors just three days after the Jazz were in Boston, Mitchell once again was not hitting. But when the game was on the line it was a late 3 by Mitchell that sparked a run that gave the Jazz enough breathing room to get the win. When the Jazz beat the Boston Celtics on March 16, Mitchell was having a pretty brutal shooting night. What’s often missing from these late-clock, fourth-quarter stats is context, and the timeliness of a shot. Kobe Bryant has often been called one of the best clutch players to have played the game, but like Mitchell the numbers don’t really match up to that distinction (and really many of Bryant’s numbers are worse).
It took just two instances of Bogdanovic hitting a good shot for him to be labeled a clutch player.
Clutchīeing labeled a clutch player in basketball sometimes takes an entire career worth of work and other times can take as little as two plays.īojan Bogdanovic hit two buzzer-beaters for the Jazz in the 2019-20 season and when the Jazz lost Game 7 against the Nuggets in the playoffs with Conley’s final shot rimming out, it was Bogdanovic that many were wishing was on the court to take the final shot. Remember when the mid-range was a huge part of Mitchell’s game? He’s taken a lot of that out in order to fit with the Jazz’s more efficient style these days, but in the final three minutes of fourth quarters this season Mitchell is shooting 57.1% from 10 to 16 feet away from the basket and 75% from 16 feet out to the 3-point line. NBA power rankings roundup: Utah Jazz stick around top 5 in national rankingsīoth Mitchell and Jazz coach Quin Snyder have pointed out times when Mitchell has allowed himself time to understand how the defense will guard him and then exert himself at the right moment. But, the numbers that people look at can often be very reductive. In Mitchell’s case, there are some overarching numbers that people will turn to in order to criticize his attempts to take over at the end of close games. When Clarkson is dribbling through traffic and hitting tough, contested shots in isolation he’s revered for his confidence and called a walking bucket, as if he’s some type of hero.īut Clarkson could string together five straight games like that, then if he has one off game he’s criticized for trying to play hero ball. When people think about hero ball, it’s usually in the context of isolation plays, a player creating for himself.
Clarkson has made a career out of being known as a guy who can get a bucket at any time. You know, it’s funny the way that we look at these things. Instant analysis: Jordan Clarkson busts out of slump as Jazz beat Grizzlies for the second straight nightĮither way the line between the two is very thin and these terms are incredibly fleeting, especially during the regular season.