Transition corner threes are an emphasis for Mitchell
Cavs news and links for Thursday, October 9.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are back in action tonight as they take on the Indiana Pacers. Let’s take a look at one thing that stood out in the preseason opener.
The first sip
Donovan Mitchell was in the first percentile in corner threes last season with only 2% of his shots coming there. This was an area Kenny Atkinson has identified and brought up as an easy way to get better looks for his best player.
“He’s super efficient already, but how do we tweak this system where he’s running off the ball more?” Atkinson said at media day when asked how to take Mitchell’s game to the next level. “Can we get you more corner threes? I think we were 23rd in transition corner threes. Can we get you the simple ones? Make your life easier? . . . We got to get him that easy stuff.”
Mitchell confirmed that this is something Atkinson has talked to him about.
“Moving without the ball, getting to the corners,” Mitchell said. “Sprinting my behind to the corner. The gravity I have is huge.”
We saw how Mitchell sprinting his behind to the corner in transition could open up a quality look. Chicago’s defense was poor. They didn’t effectively stop the ball and lost Mitchell because of it. But Mitchell’s willingness to get below the break allowed him to take advantage of the mistake.
There’s a lot of low-hanging fruit with the Cavaliers’ offense. Making the effort to get to the corner like Mitchell did is a way to get an easy, high-percentage look.
It may take a while for Atkinson’s offense to fully take form. But emphasizing easy points like this is a way to make it look considerably better than it did last season during this transition phase.
WNBA schedule
- Minnesota Lynx at New York Libert, WNBA Finals Game 1, 8 PM, ESPN
NBA preseason schedule
- Cavs vs. Pacers, 7 PM
- Lakers vs. Bucks, 8 PM, NBATV
- New Zealand Breakers vs. Thunder, 8 PM
- Hornets vs. Grizzlies, 8 PM
- Jazz vs. Mavs, 8 PM