The Triple Team: Donovan Mitchell Shows His Playmaking, Shredding Nuggets Defense for Jazz Win in Game 2

Donovan Mitchell scored 57 points in Game 1. Of course, the Nuggets did not want that to happen again.

That changed their defense to put high pressure on Mitchell when the Jazz put up a screen. Given the size and length of Denver, they hope to whip up Mitchell.

They did not. Instead, Mitchell consistently made great reads with the resulting four-on-three advantage on the floor, the Jazz got three to open three, and won the game with their best offensive rating in playoff history.

As a defense that is aggressive and focused on one player, you can exploit it in so many different ways. You can set Rudy Gobert to a screen and roll, leaving Clarkson open on the weak side.

You can set and slide Royce O’Neale a screen, leaving an open shot.

You can combine the last two ideas. You can have Ingles set up a screen and pop, and then Gobert has to come up and screen for him.

Mitchell makes good reading, which is great. But here also give Quin Snyder credit for taking advantage of this in so many different ways.

Okay, so after being killed at this point by a 15-point lead, the Nuggets decided they could not help that much anymore. So they went to drop-sized defense, and Mitchell just got up and nailed two tries in a row.

Next they decided to switch. But that left Mitchell leaving to get a switch on Michael Porter Jr., the Nuggets’ worst defender. That causes the Nuggets to panic, double team Mitchell, and you guessed it, leave someone open for a try.

Another incredible pass from Mitchell.

That he was able to score 30 points despite being doubled, hedged and trapped is absurd, and honestly especially serves to show what a good outside shooter Mitchell has become when he’s open. But that’s exactly what good players do: take what the defense gives them.

Mitchell is in Denver’s head at this point. If he continues to play this well, with this level of accurate patience, the Jazz will win this series.

After Game 1, when the Jazz allowed only 40 points in the paint, I thought it was a telling defensive choice: the Jazz went to block the paint to shoot the Nuggets from outside. Sure, the way the Nuggets shoot the ball in Game 1, it’s not obvious that the choice pays off.

But in Game 2, the Jazz executed their game plan much more effectively in both areas. Not only were the Nuggets defensively shut down from the arc, but the paint defense was even better: the Nuggets scored only 28 points in the paint. And only half of that came at the edge, the rest of Nikola Jokic’s midrange floating goods and crew.

Like, compare the shot charts of the starting lineups. The Nuggets had to live off the midrange, while the Jazz got just the shots they wanted.

It’s a tricky balance, though. The Jazz wanted to be more physical on the perimeter without letting Gobert in on his own. So they went over Murray more often on pick and rolls, which means Gobert has to step up to stop Murray. Then someone slips over to stop the roll.

This was the most punctual defense piece of the game, but it’s also exactly what I’m talking about: Murray is ready to pass the ball to Jokic, but can not. Gobert is good at defending in space, plus Mitchell is there. But Mitchell may be there, because Porter is just hanging in the paint. Gobert grabs the Jokic panic shot. This play is fun to watch over and over again for multiple reasons.

I expect the Nuggets offense to be more accurate in Game 3, but it’s a tricky mix for them: they want inside cutters to take advantage of Jokic, but those cutters can also bring help at just the wrong time. They have some things to figure out.

I have no children, but I have found something I can just love and cherish: this O’Neale pass to Mitchell early in the game.

Heck, TNT playwright Bob Fitzgerald sounds like he’s at work to have a baby during the play’s call. It’s just as snowy – O’Neale watches Morgan come out of the corner as if he’ll get the ball, and then delivers a no-look spinner right into Mitchell’s hands for the easy lineup. Great game design from Snyder, too: it was clearly a set that attracted the coaches and thought it would work.

Here’s another one: Mitchell gets a lob from O’Neale, which he catches with one hand and ends up with superhuman ease.

It says Snyder is picking up these plays, so O’Neale is delivering these passes. He’s a very good passer, but having Joe Ingles acting at the same time allows for the wrong direction in a way that would be as effective as O’Neale working to get open. With the ball in O’Neale’s hands, the defense rests a bit, knowing they will not attack.

Again, it shows the defensive disadvantages of paying this much attention to Mitchell: Torrey Craig keeps his face, which means he is less likely to get the ball in traditional ways, but more susceptible to unexpected action like this.

After a Game 1 sketch, O’Neale needed a stronger Game 2. He found himself through passes like this, and got into the stream of offense before feeling comfortable. I wish he shot more often early, to be sure, but with setups like this it’s hard to complain too much.