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PHILADELPHIA – His alignment in the box was scored on Friday night by Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell.
"I took 35 shots, that can not happen, zero assistance," said Mitchell after the 113-107 Jazz loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. "It's not what I am, it's not like that I play, I know I'm always aggressive, but I have to be smart."
Mitchell, who heard rumors from the 76ers fans backing Ben Simmons during the controversial NBA Rookie of the Year competition last season, scored 31 points on 13 out of 35 shots in the loss.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, it's the first unassisted outing of 35 NBA shots since Carmelo Anthony's performance with the New York Knicks' 62 points in a win against the Charlotte Bobcats on Sunday. January 24, 2014. Previously, the last such statistical line in the league came a little over two decades ago, when the Boston Celtics' Antoine Walker made 35 unaided shots in a Jan. 7 defeat 1998.
Nobody has taken so many shots without help and scored fewer points than Mitchell since Elvin Hayes, of the San Diego Rockets, recorded 28 points in a defeat on February 8, 1969. Utah coach, Quin Snyder, and Jazz veterans have not challenged Mitchell's shooting choice against the 76ers.
"We want him to be aggressive, we need him to be aggressive," said Jazz's small striker, Joe Ingles, who missed a good glimpse of an opponent's potential score at 3 pointers from a Mitchell direct drive pass with 42.1 seconds. remaining. "I told him that during one of the downtimes: if he feels good about shooting and that's a good shot in our attack, he has to shoot it." he is 1-on-20 or 20-on-20, No matter for us, it's our guy, that's what he does: he's aggressive.
"He does not need to think too much about it, he does not need to think it's his fault if we lost, I think the last thing that he has to do is to worry about it. "
Mitchell, who was the first rookie to be the top scorer in the playoffs since Anthony 15 years earlier, has growth problems early in his second season as the Jazz beat a record 7- 8. He scores an average of 21.2 points per game, but draws only 40.8% of the area, the lowest score of the 23 players in the NBA who record an average of at least 17 shots per game.
Snyder, however, points out to Mitchell that he wants it in "attack mode" on a consistent basis and will live with the results as the guard works to make readings.
"We know where he is as far away as wanting to play properly and to be [selfless], "Snyder said. The biggest thing is just to have it attacked. If he does not attack, he is not in situations where he can improve. I think that's the most important thing and that with time, you become more efficient. It does not happen overnight. "
But Mitchell, whose average of 4.0 assists per game is up slightly over last season, remains at high standards. He admits that he struggles patiently and often allows losses to eat him down.
"I'm expecting to be perfect," said Mitchell on his way to the team bus as the Jazz headed to Boston for Saturday's game. "I just can not make such a match, in my opinion, my teammates will always be there for me, have my back, my coach will always have my back, that's what makes me go forward, because I'm hard on myself.
"But I will manage to stay safe and stay focused."
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