When discussing Miami Heat basketball, it’s usually consisted of a flurry of screens, a ton of motion, and a lot of overall ball movement.
Fast forward to the start of this season, and it’s been all of that plus a huge bump in the isolation department. That’s never been the Heat’s go-to, mostly since their roster hasn’t allowed for it over the past half decade.
Miami continues to lean into paint touches off the bounce, leading to eventual kick-out threes. Jaime Jaquez Jr has done an incredible amount of damage in this department. Bam Adebayo and Nikola Jovic continue to be downhill threats for pockets of the game as well.
But nobody on the team is adapting to this specific style better than Davion Mitchell.
Two players so far this season have been unassisted on 80%+ of their buckets:
– Davion Mitchell (86.7%)
– Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (84.1%)
— NBA University (@NBA_University) October 30, 2025
Yes, that’s a real stat: 86.7% of Mitchell’s field goals this season have been unassisted. Almost every possession has consisted of him on the ball, attacking one-on-one, and using his broad shoulders and overall strength to bully his way inside before a finish at the rim or a soft touch floater.
Being on a list with one other player when discussing scoring in isolation, and it being a guy who is coming off an MVP season plus an NBA championship, in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, is quite the stat.
When Mitchell had the three point shooting surge last season for example, those were all off the catch threes which obviously would be assisted. He’s leaning so heavily into this on-ball point guard role to kick off the year for the Heat.
Davion Mitchell this season so far:
– first player in franchise history with 15/5/10 in a season opener
– first player since Tim Hardaway to have 33 assists with only 6 TOs
– 86.7% of his buckets have been unassisted
Thank god we re-signed him, he’s made for this team. pic.twitter.com/K1IUePvmWQ
— 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙩𝘾𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 (@WadexFlash) October 30, 2025
Averaging just over 8 assists a game across these first four games, he’s the first player since Tim Hardaway to have 33 assists with just six turnovers. Erik Spoelstra simply trusts him to run the show, as he’s somebody who makes limited mistakes.
The other part of his recent success is how crucial he’s been to the up-tempo style. Off a made basket or a good defensive possession, he’s always putting himself in the rebounders view so that he can retrieve the basketball and push it up the floor.
“He has a great heart that he just wants to set other people up to score, and you need guys like that,” Erik Spoelstra said after his 9 assist night against the Charlotte Hornets.
“How do you not love playing with a guy like that,” Spoelstra continued. “That becomes contagious. Everybody’s really been moving the ball, trying to share. Nobody’s really trying to go out of their box to try to put up numbers.”
Discussing the recent scoring and play-making excellence of Mitchell as of late almost makes you forget that it isn’t even his best side of the floor. His defensive skills have still been on display following a three game run of defending Ja Morant, Jalen Brunson, and LaMelo Ball.
This two-way guard continues to make a real impact on the Miami Heat’s recent winning to begin the 2025-2026 season.
