With All-Star point guard Tyler Herro on the shelf, former lottery pick Davion Mitchell has served as the starting point guard for the Miami Heat this season, and he’s performed admirably in that role. While his scoring has fluctuated from game to game, he has more than made up for it by being a great table setter.
A bench player’s most important job is often finding teammates for easy baskets, and Mitchell has done just that at a high level, averaging 8.3 assists per contest. Veteran Heat star Bam Adebayo thinks Mitchell has the potential to average double figures in assists per game.
“I feel like Davion can be the guy on our team that can average double-digit assists,” Adebayo said. “He goes to the paint, he’s making the right reads, he knows when to be aggressive, when to have an edge. And you need someone like that.”
It’s not even debatable who has been Miami’s best playmaker to this point in the season, with Mitchell averaging nearly twice as many assists as anyone else on the team. Forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. has made excellent reads early in his third NBA season, but he’s averaging just 4.3 assists per game in comparison.
Mitchell has dished out at least six assists in each of his four starts with the Heat so far this season, totaling 12 in the season opener against the Orlando Magic. Interestingly, his best performance of the campaign came in just one of Miami’s losses to date, as the Heat fell to the Magic in that game.
It’s also worth noting that he’s putting up some nice assists this season while being very protective of the rock. He’s averaging just 1.5 turnovers per contest, meaning his assist-to-turnover ratio has been better than five-to-one.
While Mitchell seems to have the instincts and know-how to flirt with 10-plus assists per contest, it may not be in the cards for him this season for one reason. That’s because Herro will likely return to the court sooner rather than later, and he’ll have the ball in his hands quite a bit because of what he brings to the table as a scorer and playmaker.
However, maybe the Heat will still keep Mitchell in the starting lineup even after Herro returns with how much he’s turned heads as a passer.