Is Jones The Suns Most Underrated Player?

[George O'Brien]

Boris is a leading candidate for MIP, Marion will be in his third all star game, Eddie is getting pushed for sixth man of the year, and Leandro was a big star in FIBA Americas tournament last summer. All these guys are viewed as underrated, but I think Jones may be the most underrated rotation player on the Suns.

I got to thinking about this when I read a profile of a draft prospect on HoopsHype and compared him to JR. I'd be surprised if there are many people outside of Suns and Pacers fans who are aware he's playing. However, his performance has been picking up lately and he is making a big impact.

In the last 9 games, he's been in double figures scoring 7 times including two games of 20. He's been shooting his three pointers well and is beginning to show a greater rangd of shots. In the Grizzlie game he had 4 blocked shots and his defense appears to be getting better.

Getting Jones to go to the basket is big deal. He averages 85.2% from the line. Right now he gets there primarily due to his side kick on his jump shot that gets him fouled a lot. (He learned this trick from Reggie Miller). However, he has been expanding his game and becoming a real threat.

Early in the season I was concerned that he might not contribute that much, but now I see him a key player and possibly the most underrated on the team.

 

[myrondizzo]

and we have him locked up cheap for the next 4 years!

 

[ProdigalSun]

I think we still have yet to see the best from Jones. I could see his game taking off similar to Joe's as he gains more confidence and gets more playing time under his belt.

 

[George O'Brien]

I think we still have yet to see the best from Jones. I could see his game taking off similar to Joe's as he gains more confidence and gets more playing time under his belt.

JJ played a lot even his rookie year, while Jones didn't (he had a total of 43 minutes). In practical terms, this is only JR's second real season while JJ didn't really break out until his 4th.

Here are JJ's numbers

01-02 9.6 ppg on 43.9% shooting and 27.3% for three
02-03 9.8 ppg on 39.7% shooting and 36.6% for three
03-04 16.7 ppg on 43.0% shooting and 30.5% for three
04-05 17.1 ppg on 46.1% shooting and 47.8% for three
05-06 19.8 ppg on 45.8% shooting and 35.5% for three

Here is JR's numbers

04-05 4.9 ppg on 39.6% shooting and 39.8% for three
05-06 10.5 ppg on 42.6% shooting and 38.9% for three (and rising)

JR played power forward in college and was a mid second round pick. JJ was the 10th pick in the draft and was highly touted. JJ got a lot of minutes in his early years because the Suns weren't very good. JR has not had as many minutes because the Pacers and Suns are very good teams. None the less, JR seems to be growing into a very good player.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

I like James Jones in, he is long, makes good decisions, and while he isn't fast, he seems to be in the right place most of the time defensively.

 

[SweetD]

He just needs to get stronger. I can see him being a JJ in a few years. I can see him playing more next year for sure.

 

[Divide Et Impera]

He just needs to get stronger. I can see him being a JJ in a few years. I can see him playing more next year for sure.

I don't see him as a JJ-type player. He is a long, lean, athletic 3 or 4 with a sweet shot. JJ is purely a 1 or 2 and lesser of a 3. Jr seems to be much stronger, better on the boards and worse on the dribble and in passing. With Jr, Diaw and Marion, we have 3 funky, hybrid player-athletes who can do things outside of their preconceived roles. I honestly can't think of a good comparison for Jr. It seems to me that he can be a hybrid of Reggie Miller and a mini Theo Ratliff.

Diaw is a weird hybrid, too. He's got a great sense for the bucket and great change of direction moves. He can get open. He also has great vision. His shot needs work, but if he can improve this offseason as well as Amare did 2 offseasons ago, he'll have a complete skill set. As of now, I'd say Diaw is a hybrid of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson - a very poor version. The Bird component is Diaw's sense for the basket and his under-the-rim athleticism. The Johnson component is the vision, the passing and the versatility. Obviously he lacks Bird's dead-eye shot and Johnson's flash, but you get the idea.

Marion is in a world all his own and he has developed every year in the league. I suspect in a few years, Marion will be the basis for comparison as there is no basis for a player like him now. The man scores 20+ ppg with no set plays run for him or through him. It bogles the mind. He has that Reggie Miller feel to him in that he is always moving and getting open, but he usually does it a lot closer to the basket.

I can't wait for Stouds to get back. We could run Nash-Diaw-Jones-Marion-Stouds in sets to just throw a complete wrench in the opponent's gameplan. Who guards who and how do you guard him? You just can't make sense out of it....

 

[Divide Et Impera]

Oh, and:



Oh, yeah!!!!

 

[elindholm]

I like Jones a lot. I don't understand why Eddie Johnson is pimping House for Sixth Man when Jones brings the same things to the table, while being better defensively and on the boards. If the definition of "a shooter" is, "When he shoots, I always think it's going in," then Jones is definitely a shooter by my reckoning.

 

[Yuma]

I was going to start a thread on how Jones' defense is already making me forget about JJ. If he keeps bringing the blocked shots and weakside help defense, he may get more minutes even WHEN Amare comes back. Notice how he's been getting a lot of minutes during crunch time at the end of games? I think D'Antoni is already noticing his better play. Last night he had at least one timely blocked shot late in the fourth that helped preserve the win for us. His blocked shots the last 3-4 games have been unreal for a 2 guard!

 

[scotsman13]

i like james better then house myself. james does a lot of little things that house doesnt even think about. like last night we had jones guarding artest for a good part of the night. the blocks and rebounds that we are getting from him. right now i would call james a not so poormans carmelo.

 

[justAndy]

apples and oranges.
House and Jones both have value to the team and tend to get minutes in the appropriate situation.

 

[jbeecham]

With Barbosa coming off the bench, we've got another potential 6th man of the year as well. Can a team have three 6th man of the year candidates? Barbosa and Jones are usually the 1st off of the bench and then House comes in at the end of the 1st or start of the 2nd. Once Amare comes back then Diaw will probably be coming off of the bench and he could also be a 6th man candidate. Maybe they should just give the 6th man of the yr award to all four of the guys.

 

[elindholm]

Has anyone ever won Sixth Man playing less than 18 minutes per game? I seriously doubt it.

 

[George O'Brien]

Has anyone ever won Sixth Man playing less than 18 minutes per game? I seriously doubt it.

That is certainly an interesting question. I know that in the early days when Red Auerbach of the Celtics invented the concept, the sixth man usually played as many or more minutes as the starters. It would take a fair amount of work to track down the mimutes trend, but I would guess it has declined somewhat due to different substitution patterns - but that is just a guess.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Has anyone ever won Sixth Man playing less than 18 minutes per game? I seriously doubt it.

I guess that's my big problem with anyone pumping House as 6th man of the year--he's NOT a 6th man. He's certainly not our sixth man--he's our 8th man, and when Amare comes back he'll be 9th in the rotation.

Shawn, Bell, Nash, JRJ, Diaw, Barbosa, and KT all get more minutes per game than House.

Barbosa is the only one of that group that has less total minutes than House this year, and that is only because of injury.

House is very good as a shooting specialist in specific situations--similar to the Steve Kerr role with the Bulls on their championship teams. He's won some games for us too. But he's not our 6th man.

 

[JS22]

I like Jones a lot. I don't understand why Eddie Johnson is pimping House for Sixth Man when Jones brings the same things to the table, while being better defensively and on the boards. If the definition of "a shooter" is, "When he shoots, I always think it's going in," then Jones is definitely a shooter by my reckoning.

You really don't need to do this.

 

[F-Dog]

Barbosa is the team's most underrated. He's even underrated by Suns fans.


Still, I like what James Jones brings to the table. Remember all the fuss about Michael Finley before the season? I don't think the Suns miss Finley at all now, and JR is the main reason why.

 

[elindholm]

You really don't need to do this.

That's all right, it's good practice. If I go a long time without offering a single positive observation, now even I will notice.

 

[boisesuns]

You really don't need to do this.

That's all right, it's good practice. If I go a long time without offering a single positive observation, now even I will notice.

We could have a few people start being really negative, then you can slowly work your way back to normal, while they are focusing on us. What do you think.