Name rookies that are not Top 15 drafts and contributing like veterans? You probably find a couple in hundreds of players. He had some good +- numbers that is really what is important. He is not paid Irving or Davis money to shoot 50% percent in his first year.
T-Jones, we don't need him to be a 20 PER, all star caliber player in order for him to be an excellent piece on this team. 15-16 PER with solid defense from the guy as a sophomore would be good enough in its own right. And I think that's attainable based on what he's done so far.
if teams are trying to stop the rockets 5th option, then that is a very good thing. it just opens up more for dwight and 3 point shots.
Defenses are not just leaving him alone on the 3 point line. The typically are out there guarding him or are at least close enough to be out of the post and away from Dwight. That is why the Rockets offense has been so spectacular with Jones playing next to Dwight as opposed to when Asik was playing next to Dwight. But you are right that Jones does not typically take the 3 point shot when the defender closes out. Jones preferred move on the 3 point line is to get the defender to close out on him by using the pump fake and then driving the ball into the post. Jones has done that a lot from both sides of the court. Jones prefers defenders to respect his 3 point shot because it creates opportunities to do what he really likes to do... put the ball on the court and go around the defender driving into the post.
Who cares? That was last year. I don't think teams can defend him as much as there will be teams he will be overmatched defending the star PF just like vs. MEM. He will be taken out of his game because of foul trouble or because he's overmatched on defense. That's why I want us to retain Asik. Asik can defend guys Howard or Jones have trouble with.
LOL IMHO the only point you made is you made feel better arguing against you in the Asik thread. First of all, your main argument is that Jones needs to hit 3's at a high rate to be effective, well he's already played 8 games while only making 1-2 three points a game, so while 3's can be obviously be a great help it's not like he's gonna live or die by the 3. Secondly, you can't take out open cutters easily because the whole reason a guy is cutting to the basket is because he's open (duh). If there's a dude standing between him and the basket why will Tjones cut to the basket? Obviously he'll run towards the other end of the court and THEN cut to the basket when he's open again. You can say his man can chase him around but then that means Dwight or Harden is left alone to go one-on-one with his defender, which is what you really want to do. Also he's not the only cutter, Harden, Parsons and Lin can also run around and cut to the basket and confuse the enemy on who's going to get the ball. We don't need Jones to be an allstar, he's doing just fine as the 5th option. We just need him to be at least be average at everything he does, whether that's D, rebs or scoring.
Chandler, TJ and Dwight all play very good basketball and this frontcourt is entering midseason form rapidly Good test against the Spurs
Jones has all star type talent. I've said this and I'm sure a lot of other people who grade out players think so too. He's a unique guy in terms of his skillset. The only thing to prevent him from being a yr in,yr out all star is his mental makeup. Much like odom,rasheed,tim thomas,derrick mckey,and charlie v,there isn't anything on the court he can't do at a high level. He's big,strong,explosive,athlete who can dribble,shoot from range,hit his head on the rim,and defend multiple positions. I hope he continues to test the limits of his game and don't settle as a specialist of some kind. What made the lakers with odom and the pistons with rasheed so special was the matchup. Too quick for a big lumbering guy,too big for a smallish guy. Jones just needs to make sure he keeps working and evolving his game and stay assertive. He's the kind of guy who mentally floats at times.
He has surprised me. I didn't expect his court awareness and three-point shooting to improve so fast (though the three-point shooting will surely regress). Let's see how consistent he is and if being featured more prominently in scouting reports will affect his performance.
Most tweeners are bad because they can't defend either position. TJ is so different that he can defend multiple positions well enough.
Talk about taking advantage of opportunity, @TerrenceJones1 has grabbed starting job & won't let go, 16 massive rebounds & solid D 2night - (MOREY)
