D. Jones' decline BY STEPHEN F. HOLDER sholder@herald.com Damon Jones experienced a rapid ascent from NBA vagabond to starting point guard for the Eastern Conference-leading Heat. It remains to be seen whether his ongoing slump will lead to an equally fast descent for the seventh-year journeyman playing on his ninth team. But if things don't get better in a hurry, that might be the unavoidable outcome. ''Of course we've thought about [a lineup change],'' Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said Saturday, a day after Jones' defensive weaknesses hurt the Heat in an overtime loss to Indiana. ``We have a guy who has not played well for a couple of weeks here. It's been a very long stretch. When that translates into the team losing games, and we've lost five out of nine, as a coach, you start looking at everything. When I think there's a better answer, I'll go to it.'' Jones' prolonged offensive slump was compounded Friday by a shaky defensive showing that contributed to the Pacers' Jamaal Tinsley taking over in crunch time to finish with 30 points, most coming against Jones. But the Heat signed Jones last summer knowing defense was not his forte. Miami acquired him largely for his ability to shoot from long range, but even that is failing him lately. Jones is shooting 32 percent from the field since Dec. 27, a span of 12 games. The reason his struggles avoided scrutiny until recently is because the Heat was winning at an impressive clip. But now that losses are beginning to pile, Van Gundy and fans alike are noticing. For his part, Jones is not alarmed. ''I'm not frustrated at all,'' said Jones, a 42-percent shooter during his career. ``I only have 107 makes from the three-point line. There's only one guy in front me. I'm in the top two. I believe I'm a good shooter, and I'm going to continue to work and continue to shoot the basketball. ``Over an 82-game season, you're going to have ups and downs. My thing is trying to be consistent. Yes, I've missed shots lately. But the great thing about the game of basketball is that I'm able to provide other things for this team. . . . It's going to get better before it gets worse I think. I'm going to shoot it until my arm turns cherry red.'' Shooters tend to emerge from slumps eventually, but with players who aren't inherently good defenders, progress on the other end of the floor doesn't come automatically. ''Damon is not a great defender,'' Van Gundy said. ``He doesn't have the natural ability to be a defender. I think he has worked very hard at it, I think he'll continue to work very hard at it. If he continues to work, and we do a better job as a team, we'll be fine at that spot. But [Friday] night, Tinsley, in a crucial stretch of the game, took over.'' So, when the Heat meets New Orleans this afternoon, Jones will have another opportunity to prove to Van Gundy he belongs in the starting lineup. If Jones doesn't convince the coach soon, he might not be the starting point guard by the time Miami returns from this week's three-game road trip. Q. WOODS COMING? The Heat possibly is one of the 11 teams to have contacted Qyntel Woods' agent about the former Portland forward. Woods was waived Friday and still must clear waivers early this week, but once he does, the former first-round pick likely could be had for the minimum salary. Raymond Brothers, Woods' agent, wouldn't confirm Saturday whether Miami was one of the teams to have expressed interest, but he sent a clear message that he and Woods consider Miami an intriguing destination. ''I've got the utmost respect for [president] Pat Riley and [GM] Randy Pfund and Stan Van Gundy, and Miami would be a great place for the kid to land,'' Brothers said.
I agree with you. Worst play i've seen all year was made by Damon Jones the other day when his team played Indiana. Ok the guy has a easy fast break layup and instead of taking the layup he throws the ball off the backboard - I guess he was trying to get D Wayde a highlight dunk - and an Indiana player grabs it. So no easy two points and of course both teams are tied at the end of regulation and Miami ends up losing in overtime which makes that play a real lip curler. looking back on it, I'm glad we didn't get the guy. Props to CD for that acquisition he didn't make.
he has only been in a slump for a few weeks compared to a few months of great basketball. i would still want him as a backup PG.
Matt Maloney suffered a similar fate when his shot began to go significantly awry. I'll give him credit for having a damn good rookie season though because the Rockets would not have gotten as far as they did that season without him gunning it from outside. He pocked a good contract from that one season's performance. I still remember the infamous foul when John Stockton elbowed him in the nose, and Maloney was called for the foul.
yea...but if Stan thinks he doesnt have the ability to be a good defender naturally...what do you think Jeff would think of him? AFAIK...VG the younger is much harsher in his estimation of defensive abilities.
So Jones is in a slump, every player in the NBA goes through it. Jones is a good player that I'm sure will be able to improve his game as the season goes on. I wanted Jones on this team and would still welcome him here. Sura has been a solid player for us this season, but don't forget that we passed on Jones for Ward, and we know how much Ward has contributed this season. Despite his recent struggles, he is still averaging solid numbers. I still think we missed out on Jones because he is the young, energetic guy we could use on this team. And the fact that we are stuck with Ward for another year.
I've always given JVG a fair shake, but this move was seriously r****ded-- in hindsight, of course. I remember we were actually all saying, "Hey, Ward's not THAT bad after all" after his first few games before his knee disintegrated. But now, it's 100% CLEAR he's done. The only good thing about it is JVG has to look at the guy every day, sucking down a contract, producing absolute zero towards winning. I figured that was foremost on his mind when he passed on Strickland in favor of the rookie, but I guess something changed his mind.
In all honesty I might have missed it, but was there an article saying the Rockets neglected to go after Jones?
D. Jones' Decline Nice title Looks like Pat Riley told the beat writer lets put a little fire in DJ pants.
JVG would turn him into a good defender. If there's one thing nobody can question about JVG, it's his ability to teach his guys how to play good D.
Yes, Damon Jones. The PG answer for any team. How could we have missed our opportunity - he's just another in a long line of Bostjan Nachbar's we have come to regret passing up. *sigh*
I remember everyone yellign and screaming all offseason and as recently as say 4 weeks ago that we didn't get Damon. This and that about how good he is and how dumb CD is and all. Now suddenly almost everyone is on the bandwagon of no Damon? Come on guys, own up. Ward was a good pickup until that knee melted after a few games. If it hadn't, everyoen would be singing a different tune. Sura was a better pickup than Damon. Damon instead of Ward would have been nice, but I don't think he'd have come here for Ward's $$
JVG would also turn him into a 24.99% 3 ball shooter. That will offset his contribution at the defensive end.
