What About Jones?

[George O'Brien]

James Jones' shooting fell off during the playoffs and now it seems most people have just written him off. I think that's a mistake.

First, he's only had three years in the NBA. A lot of veterans struggle in their first serious playoff environment. Does anyone remember Joe Johnson's stinker in the playoffs in 02-03: 5.5 ppg on 27.5% and 15.4% for three.

Second, his overall shooting for the season was not too bad at almost 38.6% for three following his 39.8% for three with the Pacers. The Suns are a team that relys heavily on the three and Jones should regain his touch.

Third, Jones showed he can play inside. My guess is that he needs to get stronger, but he wasn't that bad on defense. If he regains his shooting touch, he gives the Suns a three point threat when teams collapse onto Amare.

None of this means that Jones might not get traded or even that he's going to get rotation minutes. However, I think people overreacting to one playoff and missing what he has to offer.

 

[Mainstreet]

James Jones' shooting fell off during the playoffs and now it seems most people have just written him off. I think that's a mistake.

First, he's only had three years in the NBA. A lot of veterans struggle in their first serious playoff environment. Does anyone remember Joe Johnson's stinker in the playoffs in 02-03: 5.5 ppg on 27.5% and 15.4% for three.

Second, his overall shooting for the season was not too bad at almost 38.6% for three following his 39.8% for three with the Pacers. The Suns are a team that relys heavily on the three and Jones should regain his touch.

Third, Jones showed he can play inside. My guess is that he needs to get stronger, but he wasn't that bad on defense. If he regains his shooting touch, he gives the Suns a three point threat when teams collapse onto Amare.

None of this means that Jones might not get traded or even that he's going to get rotation minutes. However, I think people overreacting to one playoff and missing what he has to offer.

When the Suns got James Jones for a second round pick, I thought he was a steal. Actually I think his play declined well before the playoffs when he suffered an injury of some sorts... perhaps to a toe. Anyway, after he started playing again after the injury he was never the same player, especially offensively. He was a great three point shooter before the injury but afterwards, he was way off. I don't know if it was the after effects of the injury or it became a mental thing with his shot... a lack of confidence???

Anyway James Jones is an unknown for me now. I hope the Suns have a handle on the situation if there is a problem.

 

[Covert Rain]

I don't think James Jones is essential for this team. I think he is a young athletic guy but someone who will probably never be consistant. I wouldn't mind the Suns keeping him but I don't see them relying on him either. If we can get something for him, then I wouldn't be upset if they trade him.

 

[CaptainInsano]

IIRC first it was his toe, then his wrist got injured and then re-injured. That can sometimes put a big dent in your flow. He was doing good before he started to keep getting the small but very problematic injuries and unfortunately he didn't regian his touch in the late season and during the playoffs.

Worse though is that I don't think there will be very many minutes left for him now with kurt + amare + marcus on board, but then again injuries happen...especially to us...

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I don't think James Jones is essential for this team. I think he is a young athletic guy but someone who will probably never be consistant. I wouldn't mind the Suns keeping him but I don't see them relying on him either. If we can get something for him, then I wouldn't be upset if they trade him.

I really do see a lot of Joe Johnson in James Jones. He actually is a better man to man defender than Joe, but does not have the ball handling or passing skills. His confidence, also like JJ appears to have been shaken.

I have not written him off yet. When his shot was not falling for him, especially in the playoffs, at least he was out there doing other things. I remember him blocking 3 shots in about a 2 minute span during one of the playoff games.

If he regains his shooting form, he could be a dangerous 7th-9th man. One of the best in the league.

 

[Louis]

While Jones' shooting drastically fell during the playoffs, one thing that remained constant was his focus on defense and rebounding.

Anybody remember that 6 block game 2 versus Dallas with just 22 minutes played?

I was happy to see Tim Thomas go during this offseason because IMO he and Jones were redundant other than Thomas was more experienced and a little more polished in the paint on offense.

During the pre-season last year many of the so-called experts had Jones selected as their MIP.

Something he could've been in the running for until he got injured. Which is when Tim Thomas was signed. That spelled trouble for Jones and he wasn't able to recover both physically and mentally.

This year will be different you can count on that. Afterall this guy trains with Reggie Miller and Ron Artest.

 

[Chaz]

He is a good young shooter that is not overpaid and has a great attitude.

I don't understand why people would want to get rid of him.

He takes a litte to much time to get his shot off at times and teams learned by late last year to stay close to him. With fewer opportunities he lost his confidence a little. He is still pretty limited as a player but he is a solid role player for this team. I really want to see him play with Amare creating some inside offense. With Jones getting the shots that Q and JJ ere getting two years ago I think he will do really well. I have as much confidence in his shot when he is open as anyone else on the team.

 

[Cheesebeef]

James Jones' shooting fell off during the playoffs and now it seems most people have just written him off. I think that's a mistake.

First, he's only had three years in the NBA. A lot of veterans struggle in their first serious playoff environment. Does anyone remember Joe Johnson's stinker in the playoffs in 02-03: 5.5 ppg on 27.5% and 15.4% for three.

why do people keep saying this was Jone's first serious playoff environment? Did the 13 games he played with the Pacers two years ago, averaging 17 minutes a game and putting up almost identicial stats to this year just not count for some reason?

 

[F-Dog]

Nobody wants to get rid of James Jones. At the same time, I'm sure I'm not the only one who's uncomfortable with him at SG--the team was brutal whenever he stepped in at that position. JR seems to be a SF only in the Suns system, and even there, he'll be competing with Raja Bell for backup minutes this season.

It all comes down to JR's shot, I think. If he's hitting the open shot, he's useful and he'll get time. If he starts missing like last year, he'll probably fall out of the rotation.

 

[Chaz]

Nobody wants to get rid of James Jones. At the same time, I'm sure I'm not the only one who's uncomfortable with him at SG--the team was brutal whenever he stepped in at that position. JR seems to be a SF only in the Suns system, and even there, he'll be competing with Raja Bell for backup minutes this season.

It all comes down to JR's shot, I think. If he's hitting the open shot, he's useful and he'll get time. If he starts missing like last year, he'll probably fall out of the rotation.

Yea, he is clearly a forward not a guard for the Suns.

He was killing it early in the season. Then teams started crowding him and he wasn't quick enough or confident enough to drive and he would endup forcing shots at times. If he has space and time to shoot it I think his shot will be fine.

He is down the bench on this team but he is a big step above Pike at this point.

 

[Suns_fan69]

Didn't he have a lingering issue all throughout the latter half of the season including the playoffs?

I vaguely remember an article saying that he should have had surgery but with the lack of depth at forward at the time he sucked it up and played injured, which explains his declining shooting percentage during the post-season.

I like Jones. He's Q with more consistency and better defense, and Q was instrumental in stretching the defenses for people to operate last year. If he can get and stay healthy he's a good 8th or 9th man.

 

[Nasser22]

James Jones' shooting fell off during the playoffs and now it seems most people have just written him off. I think that's a mistake.

First, he's only had three years in the NBA. A lot of veterans struggle in their first serious playoff environment. Does anyone remember Joe Johnson's stinker in the playoffs in 02-03: 5.5 ppg on 27.5% and 15.4% for three.

Second, his overall shooting for the season was not too bad at almost 38.6% for three following his 39.8% for three with the Pacers. The Suns are a team that relys heavily on the three and Jones should regain his touch.

Third, Jones showed he can play inside. My guess is that he needs to get stronger, but he wasn't that bad on defense. If he regains his shooting touch, he gives the Suns a three point threat when teams collapse onto Amare.

None of this means that Jones might not get traded or even that he's going to get rotation minutes. However, I think people overreacting to one playoff and missing what he has to offer.

I totally agree with you. I like Jones and don't understand the hate he's getting on this board. He has more experience now and next year he will be healthy so I expect him to improve. He's a good back-up SF and 9th man. He can shoot and he was really active on the defensive end also. He will change people's minds on this board during the season.

 

[jbeecham]

The toe injury lingered the entire 2nd half of the season and bothered him to the point of him actually declaring he was done for the season at one point, which he retracted a couple days later and said he would tough it out. I don't remember him needing surgery though and there's been no news about him having surgery this summer so maybe he just rested it.

 

[Errntknght]

Lots of different takes on Jr here and none that I agree with entirely.

His big problem is lack of lower body strength - he can't defend anyone with any muscle down on the block nor can he maintain position for rebounding. He seems to have some smarts and a good attitude so there's reason to hope he figured that out and is spending the summer working on it. One reason I say that is that he started last year a complete wimp on the boards and gradually improved to below-average. That was a change in mind-set, though, not an increase in physical strength.

On offense his biggest problem is that he doesn't move without the ball. Of course, he doesn't move with the ball either, but I think developing the handle to do that is not something he can fix in one summer. If he could just learn to take one dribble and pop I'd be happy for now. Moving without the ball is mostly mental so I think he can improve there as long as he realizes he needs to - at least as far as moving into open spots for mid-range and in jumpers.

I imagine one reason he doesn't slash off the ball is that he isn't confident of his ability to finish - and that is something we very rarely saw him attempt so there is probably a good reason for his lack of confidence. The good news is that this year is going to be a confidence builder for him - when Amare and Boris are on the floor with him the baseline is going to be wide open - and Boris will get him the ball. As long as he can convert reverse layups finishing should be relatively easy.

Of course, I'm assuming that his 3pt shot is going to return - one thing you can depend on is that shooters will put in however many hours are needed to get their shot back in the groove. I would like to see him make one change in that - kicking his leg out ala Reggie should go. Yes it gets him to the line but at least one of his injuries last year happened when a defender barreled into his kicked out leg.

 

[Nasser22]

If he can do it right I see nothing wrong with the leg kick. Reggie didn't get injured every year and he did it. It helps out a lot, more than it hurts in my opinion. But good post man, you made some good points.

 

[Gaddabout]

Nobody wants to get rid of James Jones. At the same time, I'm sure I'm not the only one who's uncomfortable with him at SG--the team was brutal whenever he stepped in at that position. JR seems to be a SF only in the Suns system, and even there, he'll be competing with Raja Bell for backup minutes this season.

It all comes down to JR's shot, I think. If he's hitting the open shot, he's useful and he'll get time. If he starts missing like last year, he'll probably fall out of the rotation.

I totally agree with this. Actually, for a small forward coming off the bench late in the rotation, it would be very difficult to find a better player. He can defend small forwards, he rebounds, he gets after loose balls, and generally brings decent athleticism, acceptable size, and a great attitude to the floor at that position. When he's confident, he provides consistent scoring off the bench, but his confidence is very much like JJ's pre-2005.

I don't think JR is someone that should be given away. He has value to the Suns.

 

[Gaddabout]

His big problem is lack of lower body strength - he can't defend anyone with any muscle down on the block nor can he maintain position for rebounding. He seems to have some smarts and a good attitude so there's reason to hope he figured that out and is spending the summer working on it. One reason I say that is that he started last year a complete wimp on the boards and gradually improved to below-average. That was a change in mind-set, though, not an increase in physical strength.

There aren't a lot of small forwards who are good defenders on the block or even good rebounders. Those that are quite often come at the great expense of offensive ability. With JR, at least you get a little bit of everything.

 

[jlove]

Give Jones some leway people. He'll be a better roatational player this year. He was new to the system, he's young, and he was injured. Now that he's had the summer to recuperate and heal, he'll continue his progress and come on strong. Don't forget he can play a little 4 spot as well as the 3. He showed that last year during the season as well as the in the playoffs. The biggest thing I like about him, is that if his shot isn't going he still plays hard, defensively and rebounding.

 

[mribnik]

I've always been a JR fan. I remember reading about him talking about how dedicated he was to improve over the summer and get more minutes.

 

[George O'Brien]

I think Jones may end up seeing as many minutes inside as on the wing. He showed he can battle inside if he puts his mind to it, and would give the Suns another three point shooter when they pack the paint.

 

[Muggum]

I like James Jones! He fought off injuries in the back half of the season, let's not forget. And he threw a block party in one of those games against the Clips/Mavs (can't remember which one now, but he had 5-6 blocks in very few minutes). He's only going to improve, and for what we're asking him to do (spell Marion, Bell, etc.), I think he's a nice 7th or 8th man.

M

 

[jandaman]

you just dont get rid of James Jones... he isnt over paid, doesnt have a bad attitude... he does make up for bad shooting even if its just a tiny bit.. he hustles and rebounds and he blocks shots...

his confidence got shaken and the injuries etc... he'll get better..

 

[Joe Mama]

Nobody wants to get rid of James Jones. At the same time, I'm sure I'm not the only one who's uncomfortable with him at SG--the team was brutal whenever he stepped in at that position. JR seems to be a SF only in the Suns system, and even there, he'll be competing with Raja Bell for backup minutes this season.

It all comes down to JR's shot, I think. If he's hitting the open shot, he's useful and he'll get time. If he starts missing like last year, he'll probably fall out of the rotation.

I agree that James Jones is not a shooting guard, but during the Dallas series the team went on several big runs with a long lineup of Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw, James Jones, Tim Thomas, and then Steve Nash.

I also did not like the leg kick because unlike Reggie Miller, James Jones never actually made those shots. If he didn't get the foul it was a wasted shot. It also opens them up for the possibility of injury.

The other problem I had with James Jones at times was his shot selection. It seemed like too often he was determined to shoot the ball whether he was open or not.

Joe Mama

 

[zett]

I agree that James Jones is not a shooting guard, but during the Dallas series the team went on several big runs with a long lineup of Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw, James Jones, Tim Thomas, and then Steve Nash.

I also did not like the leg kick because unlike Reggie Miller, James Jones never actually made those shots. If he didn't get the foul it was a wasted shot. It also opens them up for the possibility of injury.

The other problem I had with James Jones at times was his shot selection. It seemed like too often he was determined to shoot the ball whether he was open or not.

Joe Mama

Thats because he got his arse chewed by D'Antoni for passing up an open shot and he swore that wouldn't ever happend again. The leg kick is ok some times, he just does it too much,it takes his concentration away from the hoop!