Good news for San Antonio Spurs: He is back..
Spurs are benefiting from Tre Jones’ return to the starting lineup: “The ultimate competitor”
With the worst 50-game record in team history and an intimidating nine-game road trip that will see them through the All-Star break and back to a Leap Year match against the Oklahoma City Thunder—just their third home game of the month of February—the San Antonio Spurs departed for Miami on Tuesday.
Finding any silver lining in such a horrible situation is almost difficult, unless you divide the Spurs’ first 50 games into two categories: pre-Tre Jones and post-Tre Jones.
That would mean that Jones would have played 33 games prior to being put back in as the starting point guard and 17 games after that.
On January 4, the experiment that started the season with 6-foot-8 power forward Jeremy Sochan as the starting point guard in a “positionless” lineup that also included 6-11 Zach Collins and 7-4 Victor Wembanyama was abandoned.
It had resulted in an 18-game losing streak and only five wins.
Even worse, it resulted in an appalling minus-10.5 average point differential each game.
Six-foot-1 and twenty-four years old, Jones began 65 of the 68 games he played in 2022–23. This was his third season wearing the silver and black after being selected from Duke in the second round of the 2020 NBA Draft. From the time Gregg Popovich
The Spurs’ average point difference in Jones’ 16 starts is minus-0.5, demonstrating how much more competitive they are right now compared to their performance in the 2023 stretch of the schedule.
It matters for the league’s youngest team, which is still in its infancy, that six of the 11 losses with Jones in his more prominent role have been by single digits.
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Jones, who is averaging career highs in points (9.7), assists (5.8), and rebounds (3.2) per game, acknowledges that accepting being benched at the start of the season required reflection and tenacity.
His swallowing was made much harder by the team’s 18-game losing skid.
“Of course I wanted to be a starter, being a competitor and putting in the amount of hours I had put in at the gym in the offseason, watching film and trying to improve my game,” Jones stated. Simultaneously, I understood our intentions. However, not being able to start early in the season presented difficulties since I was unable to support the squad in the ways that I knew I could.
“I also knew that if I just remained prepared, I could seize the chance when it presented itself.”
Does he think he’s made a point or two, that the advantage has been entirely taken?
“Selfishly, you could say so,” he remarked. “You have to try to take advantage of every opportunity you have to prove yourself in this league.” Making the most of the chance to start over was something I felt was important, and I still do.
Jones is among the Spurs players this season who is the most competitive, according to Popovich. He has frequently thrown in the ultimate compliment when referring to him as “the ultimate competitor.”
The 75-year-old coach has said multiple times that “He’s a winner.”
Coming from Coach Pop, that means a lot, Jones remarked. “With five championships and the most victories, he is the ultimate competitor and, obviously, the ultimate victor.”
Jones and rookie wonder Wembanyama have a unique connection. When opponents determine Wembanyama is the bigger threat in the lane, Jones is skilled at getting to the rim for layins and floaters. They have established the high pick-and-roll as a mainstay of their attack.
Furthermore, because one of Wembanyama’s strengths is his court vision, he keeps making himself accessible for a return pass even after passing to Wemby after coming off the pick.
Victor has a high IQ when it comes to basketball, according to Jones. We are able to communicate since he has a really high level of understanding of the game. He and I both have extremely similar game concepts early in our careers and when we play together. I consider myself to be a point guard.
It’s evident that he enjoys watching a lot of basketball and that he’s keen to learn new stuff. Playing with a guy like him is simple.
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