this post was submitted on 24 Oct 2023
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Except Mitchell doesn't use his wingspan for defense, at all
For sure, it that’s an effort/technique issue, not a size one. Mitchell isn’t actually that small for a 2 defensively, he’s long and strong for his height. He’s just a bad defensive player.
Thats very true of his Jazz seasons but to be fair to him he was a lot better in Cleveland. He still wasn't good and the effort wasn't always there but he was a lot more engaged and mostly executed the scheme and tried some to get over screens.
He is a funny player. His entire draft profile + early summer league profile was great defender right away but might not be able to score. Yet in the league hes been the exact opposite.
Also while wingspan in theory helps more with defense, I'd argue height is more important on offense as it allows you to see over opponents to make the right reads.
I don't think "seeing over opponents" helps when it literally only applies to jokic. Every other great passer has been perfectly able to read defenses without seeing over them. Even LeBron isn't "see over opponents" tall. Cp3, Stockton, Nash, rondo, wall, Westbrook all did just fine despite being the smallest guy in most lineups
LeBron is still taller than the average NBA player, and more to the point if he is being blitzed off a pick and roll, there is usually bound to be one short defender.
The point guards you listed are exceptional passers (first three have a claim to top 10 pg all time lists), and I'd argue Westbrook at 6'6" would have a better assist/turnover ratio than what he does now.
I don't think Mitchell is a natural passer and that combined with his short stature limits his ability in this area. I think a good comp for Mitchell (in terms of passing ability) would be Kawhi. If Kawhi was closer to 6' rather than his listed 6'7", I think his assists/to would be similar to Mitchell.
He's not really a small player is the point. He's built like a tank and has elite functional length, yet there are always complaints about his size apparently handicapping your backcourt whereas no one ever talks about Ja and Bane being a small backcourt.
Smaller guys can use length to play bigger. Donovan doesn't do this. He is short and plays small. He's also more of a 2, meaning he needs to play next to a playmaker to excel, despite needing the ball to be effective. Ja is small, roughly the same size as Dono, but he is the primary playmaker and ball handler for his team. Bane functions well without the ball and uses his strength extremely well. Replacing Bane, who is a solid four-ish inches taller than Dono and guards like he is, with Mitchell would make the Memphis backcourt significantly worse defensively. That's how you know the size matters. Donovan is small and makes no effort to use the physical gifts he has to make up for it.