With All-Star guard Tyler Herro on the shelf, former lottery pick Davion Mitchell has functioned as the Miami Heat’s starting point guard this season, and he’s fared admirably in that role. While his scoring has fluctuated on a game-to-game basis, he’s more than made up for that by being a great table-setter.
A point guard’s most important job is often to find teammates for easy baskets, and Mitchell has done just that at a high level, as he’s averaging a team-high 8.3 assists per contest. Longtime Heat star Bam Adebayo thinks that Mitchell has it in him to average double digits in assists per game.
“I feel like Davion can be the one on our team that can average double-digit assists,” Adebayo said. “He gets in the paint, he’s making the right reads, he knows when to be aggressive, when he has an advantage. And you need somebody like that.”
It’s not even a debate as to who’s been Miami’s best playmaker up to this point of the season, as Mitchell is averaging almost twice as many assists as anyone else on the team. Forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. has made some great reads early in his third NBA season, but he’s dishing out just 4.3 assists per game in comparison.
Mitchell has tallied at least six assists in every one of his four starts with the Heat so far this season and totaled a season-high 12 dimes in their season opener against the Orlando Magic. Interestingly, his best passing performance of the campaign just so happened to come in Miami’s only loss to date, as the Heat fell to the Magic in that game.
It’s also worth noting that he’s putting up gaudy assist totals this season all while being highly protective of the rock. He’s averaging just 1.5 turnovers per contest, which means his assist-to-turnover ratio has been better than five to one.
While Mitchell seemingly has the passing feel and know-how to potentially flirt with 10-plus assists per contest, that might not be in the cards for him this season for one reason. That’s because Herro likely will be returning to the court sooner rather than later, and he’s going to have the ball in his hands quite a lot 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’s return with how much he’s turned heads as a passer.