Exactly. We expected Jones' progress to continue after the 13/14 season only to see him get injured early on in the 14/15 season. We were then surprised when DMo was put into the starting lineup and performed better than expected.
I love how those of us who support TJ and DMo are called apologists. I guess we should apologize for supporting TJ. I mean, he is God-awful and can't do anything on the court. He should worship DMo at all times. I would rather have 2 Sammiches than TJ. What a scrub!
Bmd posted this in another thread, what you have to say about these stats. Last year he looked bad and then when the regular season started he was beasting. Those first few games before he got injured he averaged: 16.7 pts, 8.7 reb, 2 blks in 29 minutes. Per 36 of: 20.7 pts, 10.8 reb, 2.5 blks He was beasting out of the gate. But those injuries really messed him up this past season. When he came back from his leg injury, but before his collapsed lung, in those 14 games he averaged: 14.8 pts, 9.5 reb, 2.0 blks in 32 minutes per game. Pretty good numbers. It was when he came back from the lung injury that his play suffered. In those 8 games, he averaged: 9.5 pts, 4.8 reb, 2.8 blks in 25.2 mpg. And that sub-par play continued into the playoffs.
For TJ to not be a liability his motor has to be on fire. A common critique of his game is that he is a garbage man ... that is a role the rockets need to have filled. IF he can run on the breaks and steal some boards then he will be a fine backup 4. The problem is that he is not always mentally engaged and his team defense is atrocious. Sure he has a few highlight blocks , but those are more flash than substance. Because of the nature of his production in terms of points and rebounds , his raw stats are probably gonna make him look a bit better than he is. Plus basketball data that we have access to is not really a good tool of measuring performance. Someone mentioned a 14 game stretch and posted some numbers... look at how his opponents performed in those games , its generally not good for TJ. The kid still has a lot of potential , but historically this season will be a put up or shut up year for TJ. The worrying thing is that the game hasn't seemed to click mentally for him yet. He should be comfortable picking his spots where his athleticism can take over and make plays. One positive from the preseason is he does seem to have a bit quicker trigger in terms of not holding onto the ball on the perimeter, However, he is still a black hole in the paint. I know TJ and DMO play the same position , but comparing them is quite difficult. They have different skill sets and have different objectives and ways of playing while on the floor. Even if they put up identical stats they would be doing different things to get them.
I don't understand your stance. The Rockets are only committed to him for $2.5 million this year and then have the right (but not obligation) to match any offer he gets next year. The absolute worst case is we get him on a cheap salary this year and he walks next summer. Despite what some may think, TJones IS worth $2.5 million and a roster spot right now. If your angle is that we should get something for him in a trade....what? I don't see a lot of options out there.
I completely disagree that there is some sort of hype out here that TJ hasn't been living up to other than maybe a crazy comment or two from Clyde, or some TNT "analyst" that only keeps up with the Rockets on a casual basis. All of the knowledgeable posters here, and I'm sure everyone in the Rockets organization knows who TJ is, the value that he brings at his cost, and most importantly... what he is not. I've been on the board here probably more than I should be, and I can tell you honest to God that I can't recall a single person on here who has been trying to pump up TJ as the best greatest thing. The only thing you hear here is idiots trying to campaign AGAINST him as if he screwed their mom Delonte West style or something. Arguing against a hate campaign, and pumping him up as the next great star player are two way different things. NOBODY is doing that that I have seen, but maybe I'm wrong. Jones has value to this team especially at the cost he comes at. Should he be upgraded.... of course, but alot of positions on championship teams "should have" been upgraded according to their fans... but there is such a thing as a CBA, and teams don't just give away great players. If Kevin Love or LaMarcus Aldridge are available at the cost of Jones, picks, and whatever... F yes... let's move TJones. Nobody on the board wouldn't love an upgrade but this is the real world we all live in.... well some of us live in the real world.
Jones is fine as a bench player, he's good at beating down people he's better than, and fortunately he really is better than most of the backup 4's in the nba. But he's a cowardly liability against people he's worse than, which is most starting 4's
We need them both healthy and I don't care who starts. Yall can call Jones a scrub all u want but dudes gonna have two rings after this season.
Cowardly? Calling another man cowardly for his basketball skill set is beyond ridiculous. It's fine to claim he's a liability, but "cowardly?" You can do better. Go lace up and play a little ball before you call a professional basketball player a "cowardly liability." Good grief...throwing stones when you couldn't survive 1 minute on the court.
No, i chose the word i meant, he becomes a liability because he plays cowardly. No one expects Jones to outplay the stars of the league, anymore than say they expect Ariza to outplay Durant, but if Ariza disappeared up his own ass every time he was faced with a superior opponent, he'd become a liability because of it too.
He is just a role player, he needs better players around him to draw attention, DMo is a better player at this point, but Tjones is a nice role player with the right combo on the court. DD
So there are people turning on a 23 year old big man based on an alleged "lack of heart" in a preseason game. Oh and he's injury prone and will never contribute even though he is only a 23 year old player who had limited college experience and is learning on the job. Nothing like a knee jerk reaction to get the season rolling! Fan is short for what again?
No one is turning on him, just more and more people are realizing that he is what he is and are turning on the spinsters who hype him up. No matter what age he is, his contract ends after this year and he's never come close to being the guy that his fans predict he'll become or say that he is at the start of every season. It's not hate to point out the obvious, that he's a bench quality young big who is one of the more inconsistent players on the roster. Now sure, maybe he'll grow into a better, more consistent player one day, but that doesn't really help the Rockets unless it happens this year. His time is just about up.
Agreed. TJones analysis = dead horse We all know what we have in TJones. There are no more surprises or revelations left.
Apparently, we still have yet to talk about him enough. Those agenda posters won't relax, and have fun with a 60 win team. They have to be right, no matter what. The agenda posters would have argued about a role player on the 72-win Bulls team. That's just their makeup. They must argue about role players. That's who they are.
so, how many times have you posted that paragraph in the last two years. Is it saved on your phone whereby you can just type of few letters and the rest of the words will post? These agenda poster just do understand that 95% of Rockets fans are primarily focused on wins and our superstar and the injection of Ty Lawson to the mix. Most of us know we can't have perfect players at every position, so we cheer for all the role players that Coach puts on the floor.
