Let me be crystal clear here. it.was.against.the.Jazz. Got it? The Jazz. They're a lottery team. Are you really going to choose to forget the last 3 games and focus on this game and come to the conclusion somehow that this is the TJones and DMo we are going to see in the playoffs????? C'mon guys. Wake up. That's illogical. GIGO - garbage in, garbage out This performance is meaningless and will be long forgotten when we can't get a shot off in the playoffs because Jones is dancing around with the basketball at the top with no place to go with it. People won't remember a single minute of his play tonight when Zach or Blake or Duncan or Lee is simply smashing him up defensively in the playoffs. I can't believe you guys would choose to extrapolate Jones' game from tonight's performance and weigh it heavier than the last 3 games. Just unbelievable and illogical.
No sir I am basing my opinion off of the entire season so far. Dude is in his 2nd year, 1st year starting and has played better than your prediction of the 8-9 man rotation. You act like these players won't have off nights. Those players you mentioned before are not playing better ball than Jones. You my friend can not tell me this youngsta potential isn't looking bright. Jones held his own in the 2nd game against the Gizz, scoring 20 points and snatching down 6 boards. He went for 11 points and 5 rebounds in the 1st game. Last two game he didn't do so well ( 8-6 and 9-3). We all know Zach is a hand full, lol even Dwight can't check this dude. Against the Spurs in game 1 he had 21points-14 rebounds, 2nd game 10 points-16rebounds and third game 21 points - 9 boards. Those are solid games for a 2nd year players correct?
this isn't the only year that's ever going to happen. there are the future years as well. in all likelihood, this team isn't going to win the ring. 2nd round/WCF are the biggest probable outcomes which is what is expected. lots of young guys. building chemistry. jones is ok this year, but he has shown tremendous upside on both ends of the court. more so than any other players in that position in recent years. if he keeps improving(which has done this year) and gains some playoff experience. he could be pretty good next year and the years after that. if he sticks around, the rockets will be even stronger next year.
You have to remind him he was 19 and 12 against Miami, or that he is averaging 17 pts and 14 rebounds in 3 games against the Spurs. The team with the best record in all the league and TJones played a big role in defeating them 3 times in a row. Maybe he'll give him some credit for that. Probably not because I think he is locked into his opinion now. But the fact is TJones has ups and downs and it's more about him than it is about the competition. He's played well against Phoenix, SA, OKC, even New orleans and Anthony Davis. And he has played poorly against Sac, NY, Mil and this same utah team. Consistency seems to be his biggest problem. And you can chalk that up mostly to being young and inexperienced mostly. They or both young and both have a lot to learn but they are learning and improving and that's what he doesn't want to admit. TJones is the more athletic and DMo plays smarter. TJones does play better against teams where his athleticism is superior. And DMo helps against more finesse PF's and when D is needed. Neither can stop Blake Griffin but no one in the league can. I think that's his sticking point. If they can't stop superstar PF's they don't belong on the team. I would agree PF on most nights is our weakest link but at times it's pg and other time Parsons is off. Even Howard stinks it up from time to time. So no one always shows up. DMo is more consistent but TJones has higher ups to go along with his lower downs. They will improve no matter what anyone on this board says to the contrary.
We certainly need Jones and D-Mo to play well, but we will need Casspi at the 4 too and Omer/ Dwight as the TT's when we need to go big.
You have to look at it from Morey's perspective. Is Morey comfortable that the cost/benefit analysis of the power forward position is good? IMHO Jones/D-Mo at ~$3M next season and ~$4.7M in 2015-2016 is a bargain beyond belief for a cemented competitive PF rotation. Les is not a Russian oligarch. He is not going to spend $10+ at every position. Having the PF position nailed down cheaply in the summer of 2015 is a luxury that Morey is not giving up. It allows massive flexibility in the free agent market. And one thing that I am almost 100% sure of; D-Mo is definitely not going anywhere. To have a competent, or in all probability excellent, backup center on the books for $2.2M after Asik leaves is an unbelievable luxury.
He did have a good game against Miami. I acknowledged that. I also acknowledged his good games against the Spurs. But the Spurs were playing dinged in those games. That's not the Spurs team on the floor now or the one we'll see in the playoffs. And Miami came back and undid us with their adjustments focused on picking on Jones defensively and offensively. Guys....we'll see. You think I'm anti-Jones. There's nobody on this board that wants Jones to succeed more than I do. Because I am a Rockets fan first and I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that if Jones were able to hit the 3-ball consistently and were able to defend the 4's in the Western playoff bracket at least somewhat adequately (wouldn't have to be great just adequately) that we would be primed for a run to the Finals. There's no doubt in my mind that's the case. And that's what I want. So you can continue to blow all sorts of crap about me hating Jones and DMo or you can deal with facts. Go back and look at my post history. I was calling for DMo to start alongside Asik last year during preseason. I felt like that was our best opportunity for long-term success in a year when we had no chance to make the Finals. I was for trading away PPat to get DMo (or Jones) out there and get them some run. I knew we had to move PPat anyways because his trade value was going to diminish this year and we weren't going to sign him to a long-term deal before building out the rest of the team. I was very, very high on DMo. And I was high on TJones. I know their potential. But this is not then. We signed Dwight Howard this year and the minute the ink dried on the contract we became a team trying to win a championship this season. Not next season or 2016 but this season. The whole goal is to win the championship. With that in mind you have to be realistic about what you have on the floor, what our weaknesses are, and what we need to do to compete and beat the best teams in the league. We are in the last stretch of the season. Utah's season is over. They are playing out the string. Those players know that. They're just trying to get out of there without getting injured. There's a vast difference between what they are doing and what a team like the Rockets is doing, trying to tweak their game, trying to win every game possible to secure home court advantage, etc. Lottery teams are bad to begin with. When you get down to the last few weeks of the season...lottery teams are positively atrocious. They're just not going to ball. In that environment I could go out there and put up 14/8. So for anybody to be impressed with a stat line out of that game....is stupid. Once again...here's the only think I can take away from that game. Jones free-stroked 3 of 4 from distance. I wished this one simple aspect of his game would function against the best teams. But alas....it hasn't. Jones is now shooting 33% from 3 for the season. Do you know what he is shooting from 3 against SAS, POR, LAC, OKC, MEM, GS, DAL, IND, MIA, CHI??? Those are the top teams in the league. Do you know what he is shooting from 3 against them? 20%. Yep, 20%. Read it and weap. Now...do you know what Jones is shooting from 3 against team with losing records???? Catch this....47.2%!!!!! Dude shoots almost 50% from 3 against all the league stinker teams but only 20% from 3 against the good teams. Things that make you go, "Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!". The other think I look for is defensively...how does Jones do when the opponent puts him in a position where he has to make a decision defensively? Whether that be the pick-and-roll or iso or whatever. How does he do when he has to make defensive decisions? Guess what? When you're playing the Utah Jazz and you get up early, which is the case the vast majority of the time...there is no defensive decisions to be made. Utah isn't playing to WIN THE GAME. They're just playing, burning up the clock, maybe a player or two out there trying to get some meaningless numbers on their own box score. Those teams don't force guys like Jones to make defensive decisions. But...the good teams do. And I watch that folks. I watch what happens to Jones, what decisions he makes when the good team opponents force him to make decisions. And in those situations...Jones is failing. I can't point you to a number on a box score for that one. You've got to actually watch the games and break it down. Now here's the other thing. Playoff teams DO NOT reveal to each other completely what they are going to do to them in the playoffs. The really good teams that know they are going to the playoffs .... they play a little cat-and-mouse game. They try things against each other...kinda getting a little bit of data they can put in the ole memory bank. They will probe a weakness a little bit. But they won't exploit it to its fullest extent....until the PLAYOFFS roll around. If you watch the games in detail you will be able to see what I'm saying. They'll try something that works like a charm and then never go back to it. Why??? They're saving it for the playoffs. I've been involved with this game for too too many years. More years than a lot of you have been on this planet. I know what happens in the playoffs. I know what's coming in the playoffs. Teams are going to put Jones on an island defensively and offensively. They are going to force Jones into the pick and roll and make him make defensive decisions and they are going to funnel the ball to him offensively and make him have to make plays. They're going to leave him wide open at the arc and Jones is either going to have to take those shots or he's gonna have to try to move the basketball somewhere. There's going to be a steady diet of it in the playoffs. Jones will either succeed tremendously (my hope) or he will fail miserably (the highest probability at this stage given his performance against better teams in the regular season). Now...obviously some of you think you're watching games while you stare at a box score and think you know what's going on by looking at the numbers Jones puts up against the dregs of the league. Good luck wid dat. You'll be the guys pounding your keyboards in disgust when the playoffs roll around and Jones is kicking the ball out of bounds, missing shots, and getting torched defensively and on the glass. And then you'll likely be blaming Harden because "his D sucks" or something stupid like that instead of understanding and being realistic about THE TEAM! My comments in regards to Jones and DMo is about their ability to help (or hinder) us win a championship this season. My comments have NOTHING to do with how much POTENTIAL they have as young players. My comments have NOTHING to do with whether I like them or not. I actually do like them somewhat. I liked them a whole lot better last year when we weren't competing for a ring and we needed to develop guys. But I quit liking them as much after we signed Dwight and I saw through training camp and the beginning of the season that they weren't ready...that neither guy had put the time into making their 3-point shot work and neither guy had become a good decision maker defensively. I didn't say they didn't and don't work hard. What I have said about them is they didn't work hard on the right aspect of their games...their 3-point shot and playing effective defense. Those things have continued to prove true as the regular season has played out. DMo has had some blips defensively. He came up big one game against Memphis. But that game he was essentially playing the 5. He was playing in the paint. Loved it. But I've seen enough of DMo defensively to know he is going to get exploited defensively and bless his heart he can't hit the 3-ball at a high enough clip to give us the precious space we need on the floor around Dwight and Harden. I have seen occasionally blips from Jones...the Miami game for instance. But not enough. Jones failed miserably after that. One game is one game. Jones' body of work for the season against the good teams......is not good. There is consistency of poor play against the better teams. Keep watching Jones against Utah and dreaming.
Regarding Jones, Utah beat us last december, so his performance does mean something. For a second year player, this guy is very good. Houston wanted a young team, and we're lucky to have players like TJones. Look at his double figure points: http://espn.go.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/6597/terrence-jones Almost all of them are against really tough teams (San Antonio, Miami, Washington, etc). If the Rockets keep him for a few years, he will be the go-to guy for this team.
I also am not sure about Jones. My questions arise around his consistency and his ability to guard the better power forwards in the league. However D-Mo I have no questions about. He somehow early in his career has managed to attain consistency. The coaches and the fans know what to expect when he enters the game. Smart defense by a seven footer who has to be somewhere around 260 pounds. Decent rebounding, which is all that can be expected when playing next to Howard or Asik. And offensive potential. All on a rookie contract. Who could ask for more? I had a much different opinion 3 months ago about D-Mo. But now he seems to be perfectly outfitted to be a backup power forward and center in the NBA.
Yes...he has showed a step up defensively. I like the positioning and the charges. However.....what I don't see in him defensively is the ability to defend on the perimeter. And realistically I don't think he'll ever be a great defender on the perimeter because of his size. He's a very big man. And that's what opponents are going to do to him. They're going to try to stretch him out defensively against a smaller, quicker player that can shoot because most PFs are going to be smaller than him anyways. So, in my opinion for DMo to be a net plus he's got to be able to shoot the 3-ball. We don't need him in the post when Dwight is in there. We need him spreading the floor and shooting an effective 3-ball. Now...if he could shoot the 3-ball well...then that takes up some of the slack that he leaves us playing against opponent small-ball lineups. But when you can't shoot the 3-ball and other teams take you out high and exploit you defensively....that's where the fail comes. We're not seeing that a whole lot right now as DMo plays off the bench and it's the regular season. But if he is in there for any substantial minutes in the playoffs, playoff teams will exploit that aspect of his game. Athletically, on the perimeter TJones is better. He's quicker out there. However, where Jones is lacking most severely defensively is his decision making. I believe DMo is a better decision maker than Jones. I believe DMo has a higher basketball iq than Jones. I believe DMo has better instincts than Jones. I believe DMo makes pretty good decisions defensively. He just can't execute fast enough defensively when he's on the perimeter. I really wished he had perfected his 3-ball last summer. But he didn't. So, in my opinion the best place for DMo to play is ... center. He's essentially a backup center on a team that has Asik. Once again, when Dwight isn't in there Asik should be in there. Once again, what do we need the most around Dwight or Asik? SPACE! Neither DMo nor TJones gives us spacing.
I had a like opinion of D-Mo a few months ago. Defending his tag on the perimeter he was always 1 step to close to the paint. (And doesn't everyone on the weak side play the 2.9 anymore?) He could not get out and challenge the long perimeter two or the three. However re-watching his games over the last two months, D-Mo seems to be correcting this fault. It is all a matter of tag distance. D-Mo is huge, and with very quick feet for a man his size. All he needs to do is get a hand in the shooters face. The proper defense spacing to the perimeter offensive threat is a minor thing to learn compared to learning NBA defensive rotations. It is a matter of fine tuning his defensive awareness. And I am talking in the context of D-Mo being the backup PF and center. Not a starter. I believe he has grown into competently filling that roll. And he is dirt cheap for someone who can backup both positions.
To me all these guys need is confidence to step up in big games. I feel like in big games they're just not very aggressive. I think D-Mo seems to be a little more consistent on the aggression thing. I think that Jones could be causing a lot more havoc with his ball handling and dribble penetration if he would just use it on a more consistent basis. I mean sometimes it's like the other team doesn't even have to guard the 4 because TJones and DMO aren't looking for the ball at all. That's got to change. Make them guard 5 players. Every time Jones gets it going, we win. I think it just always happens against bad teams because he's not as confident when we're playing good teams.
It's definitely a factor. The fact that he's barely 22 is also a factor. He's seeing his first real minutes in the rotation this year.
I admit Jones doesn't have high IQ, but he had a few good games after he got into a slump. Look at it this way, his trade value can go up with more experience if nothing else.He didn't play that badly against OKC in the playoffs.Ditto for D-Mo.
