Last season showed what Immanuel Quickley could do as a starting point guard. Coming into this season with a new five-year deal, expectations were high for Quickley. However, a little over halfway through the season, Quickley has played just nine games. The team has felt Quickley’s extended absence, but the Raptors are leveraging it to get a long look at Jamal Shead and Davion Mitchell, who have a chance to be the Raptors’ backup point guard for the future.
The Intensifying Battle For The Raptors Backup Point Guard Spot
Davion Mitchell, The Defensive Menace
When Mitchell was traded to Toronto, the team knew it was getting a tough-nosed defender. While with the Raptors, Mitchell has lived up to his reputation, adding much-needed toughness to Toronto’s defense. Despite being 6- foot-2, Mitchell is built like a tank, which lets him hold his ground even when switched to bigger players. Even with all that muscle, Mitchell has excellent foot speed, cutting off driving angles before people can blow by him. Yet there’s a reason why the Kings dumped him in the off-season. Mitchell isn’t a threat to score the basketball point-blank.
He is quick enough to sometimes blow by his defender, but doesn’t have a reliable way to beat the shot blocker. He isn’t a vertical threat and doesn’t have a floater in his arsenal to get over the big. Behind the three-point line, Mitchell isn’t dangerous. He is shooting 33% from deep for the season on 2.7 attempts. For his career, Mitchell is only a 32.8% shooter from deep on low volume. He’s in his fourth season and has had ample of time to develop his three-ball, but it isn’t where it needs to be for a modern-day point guard. Mitchell’s shooting has seen a massive uptick over the last 20 games, connecting 41.5% of his threes on 2.1 attempts, but he needs to keep this up for longer before teams buy him as a shooter.
Locked Down With Jamal Shead
Shead has been the Raptors’ best rookie this season despite being picked 45th overall. Like Mitchell, Shead is a tough defender who takes pride in shutting people down. He isn’t the same level of defender as Mitchell, lacking the strength to body up larger players, but his point of attack defense is comparable. Unlike most rookies, Shead has had no problem playing hard physical defense without fouling. He is averaging 1.8 fouls for the season and over the last 2o games, has been down to 1.6 fouls in 19.0 minutes per game.
When switching sides to offense, Mitchell and Shead’s differences show up. Shead is a significantly better shooter, hitting 35.1% of his threes on 2.2 attempts for the season. Over his last 19 games, he’s up to 40% from three on 2.6 threes a night. Shead has a solid first step to blow by his defender. From there, he can use his floater/push shot to beat the shot blocker. He isn’t a vertical threat, so improving his floater is a must for him to be a great inside-the-arc scorer.
Jamal Shead Or Davion Mitchell?
With Mitchell being a free agent in the offseason and Shead having an impressive rookie season, the Raptors will have to choose between the two point guards soon. But who should they pick? Shead is just 22 and in his rookie season, while Mitchell is 26 and in year four. Mitchell has had three extra seasons and offseasons to improve his offensive game, but the gap between the two on that end isn’t noticeable. For the season, Mitchell averages 6.1 points and 4.6 assists with 1.7 turnovers in 24.7 minutes a night, shooting 41.7% overall and 33% from three on 2.7 attempts. For comparison, Shead is averaging 5.3 points and 3.4 assists with 1.5 turnovers while shooting 40.8% overall and 35.1% on 2.2 threes. Shead is doing this while playing 8.2 fewer minutes than Mitchell.
Beyond the numbers, Mitchell isn’t confident in his offensive game. He passes up open threes too often and doesn’t look to score unless he must. On the other hand, Shead is more willing to let it fire from deep or drive into the paint while looking to score. While Mitchell is the better defender, the gap isn’t that wide. Certainly not wide enough to make up for Shead being a better offensive player while being four years younger and a rookie. The team still has a while before they have to choose a backup point guard, but it is hard to see them keeping all three point guards heading into next season.
Photo credit: © Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
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