Terrence Jones can not be a starter on a championship caliber team.

I know arguing with *disgraced former bbs member* jopatmc is like stabbing yourself in the face with an oyster fork repeatedly, but in case anybody actually believed this garbage, his splits are here:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/joneste01/splits/2014/

He beasted against San Antonio averaging 18-12 over 4 games, sucked against the Clips, averaged 10-9 vs. OKC etc etc etc -basically it's all over the map and averages out to about his season statline as a starter.

 

I'm not lobbying for DMo to start. I'm lobbying for DMo to get the same opportunity as Terrence.

What you're saying is Terrence earned the starting job because the team played well with him in the starting lineup. I can accept that to a point. But it's more like this. Terrence hasn't earned a demotion because of his play with the first unit. And I think that is what is going into McHale's (and to a certain degree Morey's) thought process. Terrence hasn't played bad enough in combination with DMo playing good enough to give DMo the nod. And Terrence was the starter last season. If they were to take Terrence out of the lineup in favor of experimenting with DMo at this stage....it would crater what trade value we are attempting to build up with Terrence.

But....the flip side of that is DMo's trade value is going into the tank. This is part of the reason why I was an advocate of trading at least one of these guys during training camp. But....they weren't traded. Obviously there wasn't enough trade value for either guy to warrant Morey moving either one. And that speaks volumes because we simply don't have the minutes for both guys but we DO need a backup center that can defend the rim and board big time when Dwight is on the bench. Hence, we see Black actually getting minutes out there because Black is better defensively than DMo in the middle.

Terrence will be starting until he is traded. And hopefully he is traded soon. Because he can't shoot from distance. And he can't defend big 4's. And therefore he's not going to help us win a ring by starting at the 4 here.

 

With Jones the issue is often focus and effort. He had a nice game last night but remain skeptical.

 

TL;DR - enjoy the season for a little while and stop being such a clown show.

You must have liked the Rockets at some point in your life dude? They're undefeated. # pursuit.

 

The ONLY good team he had good numbers against during the regular season was the Spurs. And the reason was the Spurs were playing with half the team on the disabled list. Splitter was out for several of those games, etc. But you know Terrence can't hold Duncan nor Splitter. And you know he struggles even finishing in the paint when we play teams with dual big guys on the floor like Duncan/Splitter, Gasol/Zach, etc. etc.

Sam, be honest. Is Terrence the answer for us at the 4 on the road to winning a championship??? You can cat call all you want. But what's your gut tell you. Is Terrence the 4 we need next to Dwight and James to win a ring? If you refuse to answer these questions but instead just throw off on my commentary....that's pretty lame.

 

Jones will always be inconsistent.

He has an ever-changing motor.

One game he hustles. The next he looks uninterested.

He has a ton of talent, but is a bad fit for this team if he isn't doing the dirty work.

 

Jones shooting jumpers is an eyesore, but the reality is we need him to develop a J for our offense to reach the next level.

Could this be the year we finally acquire Ryan Anderson?

 

LMFBO. Well said. The dude is just plain entertaining at times LOL.

 

Jeez, can y'all at least wait until he has a bad game to whine about TJones?

I mean the guy just put up 16/13 with 3 assists on opening night, give him a break lol.

 

He had a great individual game. I have no problem giving him credit for that.

Do you think we will win a championship with Terrence at the 4?

 

If he gets a little more consistent this season, yes.

Ideally he'd be a quality bench guy though. I certainly think he can be a valuable contributor on a championship team.

 

Reasonable. That is if by consistent you mean he develops a jump shot that is efficient from distance.

 

http://houston.cbslocal.com/2014/10...ter-three-years-in-the-nba-thats-who-you-are/

 

damn that sucks for rubio then

 

I thought it was very telling that they are giving Jones the green light to shoot. He didn't have that last year. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.....I believe he was 1 for 4 on jumpers last night (or something close to that)

Tiny sample size aside, it appears that Jones is going to be a different type of player this year. He's handling the ball more than I remember, taking more Js, and being more aggressive as a rebounder and defender.

Whether or not he becomes the type of player we need him be is beside the point.....the Rockets are asking him to be more than a role player this year. At least we should know either way by mid-season.

 

Jones was 20 and 8 against the Lakers last season (in 3 games). He loves playing them.

I don't get the irrational Jones hate. 3rd year player, coming along nicely. Enjoy the ride.

 

Yah jones is probably my favorite player on the team now followed by the papa guy from Europe.

I hope he stays on the team and starts for the next decade.

 

Umm Jones isn't starting anymore dude. So is the next evolution of this thread "Terrance Jones cannot be a rotation player on a championship caliber team"?

Hate to break it to you, but if your team can get to the WCF, you're pretty much already a championship caliber team. Hell, the Rockets chances look good to make the Finals considering they barely lost Game 1 without Dwight.

 

I'm pretty sure that Jones could very well be starting right now if McHale insisted, and would be if he went back to the normal starting lineup.

Regardless.... starter, or playing a key rotation role on a Championship Caliber Team... Green Apple, or Red Apple... its still an Apple.

The Rockets are currently one of the top 4 teams in the league, and probably the 2nd best team left in the playoffs.

If the Rockets aren't currently a "Championship Caliber Team" I don't know what is.

So the whole premise of the OP's argument is incorrect, and is proven to be so. Maybe Jones is SOLEY to blame for the game 1 loss in the Western Conference Finals. If you want to blame him for anything and everything than go ahead. I know some of you will do so regardless just as some people will continue to blame McHale for every time an opposing team scores a bucket, or the Rockets miss a shot.

However the argument is now proven incorrect. Like it or not, Jones is playing starter level minutes on a Rockets Championship Caliber team.

Get the F over it, and move on.