Mavs Film Room: How Finney-Smith Contained Donovan Mitchell

The Dallas Mavericks changed things up with how they defended Donovan Mitchell.

Among the key factors that went into the Dallas Mavericks' 111-103 win over the Utah Jazz was the defensive effort to contain All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, who had averaged 33.0 points per game in two prior matchups against the Mavs earlier this season.

Mitchell finished with 17 points while shooting 5-19 (26.3 percent) from the floor and 2-9 (22.2 percent) from beyond the arc on Monday night. Slowing him down was pivotal given that Bojan Bogdanovic (21) and Jordan Clarkson (19) combined for 40 points. Had Mitchell produced a regular performance to his standards, the outcome could’ve been much different for Dallas.

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Dorian Finney-Smith

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Mavericks vs. Jazz

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Donovan Mitchell vs. Mavericks

"[Dorian Finney-Smith] did a great job and also Reggie [Bullock] did a really good job," coach Jason Kidd said. "I thought those two were great. Donovan is an All-Star and is probably going to be in the MVP talk.

“He's hard to guard, he's shifty. He can get to the basket, he can shoot the 3. I thought those guys did a great job of just contesting, making it tough on him."

In previous matchups, Mitchell presented real challenges for the Mavericks' defense with his dynamic perimeter shooting. Finney-Smith understood this was something he had to key in on to at least make it harder on Mitchell. 

“I knew they were coming off of a back to back so I was just trying to make it hard for him," Finney-Smith said. "He is a great scorer, and he can heat up at any time. The last time we played them he hit seven 3s on us, so I am just trying to get him off that 3-point line really.” 

The Mavs made an concerted effort on defense to have Dwight Powell play closer on screens in order to take away Mitchell’s rhythm pull-up jumpers. The work of Dorian Finney-Smith and Reggie Bullock to make things hard on Mitchell was vital. 

The Dallas Mavericks did an effective job of challenging Donovan Mitchell on his shot creation attempts.

The big defender engaged close to the level when needed. The on-ball defender consistently did an effective job of staying tight without fouling. pic.twitter.com/0qMzdOxt5M

— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) March 8, 2022

There were a few drives where Finney-Smith defended Mitchell that stood out from the rest. In these examples, Finney-Smith managed to track Mitchell deep on the drive and gain the necessary positioning to use his length to challenge him.

Dorian Finney-Smith did a quality job challenging Donovan Mitchell on some drives to prevent a clean finish attempt.

If a big is in the paint, it's important the smaller Mavericks unit gains quality positioning to finish the play on the boards. pic.twitter.com/WYfeYvEKUm

— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) March 9, 2022

Where the Mavericks will need to tighten things up is their execution on the boards after Mitchell when he decides to drive. That’s not an easy task, though, since Utah’s big tend to ‘show’ early and then recover. Either in a slip or after flipping the screen, the screener can get behind the defense comfortably. 

One of the keys the Mavericks will need to tighten up against the Jazz is finishing plays on the boards when Donovan Mitchell attacks downhill.

Hassan Whiteside managed to come up with an offensive rebound a few times with his focus being on gaining positioning. pic.twitter.com/tQBiHVYc4S

— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) March 9, 2022

The Mavericks could try to ‘veer-switch’ more as they did early on with Powell as the big defender. Both Powell and Kleber have the mobility to hold their own in space, especially along the baseline if Mitchell pulls out of the play to go into a quick iso.

This was an impressive possession from Dwight Powell using his mobility on defense. Dorian Finney-Smith and Powell veer-switch to prevent a clean run to the rim for Mitchell, which results in him taking a baseline jumper. pic.twitter.com/JpfnJ2cHb7

— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) March 9, 2022

It's more challenging to execute that veer-switch if the guard flips the direction of the screen. It's easier for the big to get behind a defender who is  engaging on the screen, especially with Mitchell being a pull-up shooting threat.

Finney-Smith has played an integral role in the success of the Mavericks' defense throughout the season. His impact against Mitchell, who is an All-Star guard, was the ultimate display of his impact and value.

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

"When you look at what he does on a nightly basis, him and Reggie [Bullock] take of top offensive guys every night and they don't complain," Kidd said. "They don't complain about the offensive end either. 

"We've asked them to take that challenge and I think Dorian and Reggie have done a great job. Dorian should be on one of the teams and Reggie hopefully gets mentioned, too."

After recently signing a four-year, $55.6 million contract extension, Finney-Smith has raised his game to a new level after putting pen to paper. His defensive impact has been pivotal to the Mavericks, and he's also been a relief valve for the offense with his catch-and-shoot ability, offensive rebounding, and attacking off the catch.