Dillon Mitchell has played in a total of seven games for the Boston Celtics since they drafted him No. 40 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft. And while that would be far too few games to tell us much about the Tampa, Florida native's potential in the league even if they were not exhibition games in Las Vegas Summer League and preseason play, we are starting to see an outline of sorts starting to come together regarding his play.
His shooting, in particular, is of interest to Boston fans given that was the one big knock on his game coming out of college. But since joining the Celtics and working with player development coach Craig Luschenat, Mitchell has been shooting quite well from 3 (36.4 percent) and in general (50.9 percent), with one big, fat
asterisk (his free throws, at 27.3 percent). "It's been really good, and I think the biggest thing is just the consistency of it," said the St. John's alum (viaCLNS Media) of that work after Boston's final preseason game on Friday (Oct. 16). "Every day, no matter what's going on, we make sure to get our work in."
"Even on long days, we try to get something in, whether it's 15 minutes, but it's been really good," he added. "(We've been) working on the fundamentals, working on the form, shooting on the way up, the confidence. But it's been good, it's been consistent."
Mitchell has been taking pregame heaves, or shoots sideways, and shared the thinking behind that. "Just to feel myself shooting on the way up and shooting from a lower set," he said. "I think it's the biggest thing with that, instead of shooting on the top, how I used to before, it's working on really shooting on the way up, feeling that movement."
The new form seems ingrained to him, even if it does drift a bit from time to time. "I think it's gotten to a point where I can fix it myself, if I feel during the workout. I may be going back to old habits or bad habits. I've gotten to the point where I'm able to fix it myself and make corrections myself, so it's been good."
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Dillon Mitchell on how he's finding shooting touch with Boston Celtics
