http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/4564 Recent articles about James Jones en-us The article that is written in the Sun Sentinel proves a point. The Miami Heat have too many players in the middle of the rotation. With Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion, Udonis Haslem, Michael Beasley, Dorell Wright, Daequan Cook, and recently signed James Jones one of them has to be on the move. The Heat cannot afford to have so many players at one position and so little at center and point guard. Maybe a really big trade will happen, who knows??? But with Beasley in, one of them has to go. Who do you think should be traded and what would they get in return? Wed, 09 Jul 2008 21:41:46 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288294 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288294 MIAMI -- Throughout his NBA career, James Jones has always thought of the Miami Heat as his team. And now, it finally is. The South Florida native signed a five-year contract on Wednesday with the Heat, one that'll pay him $4 million next season and could be worth more than $23 million over the life of the deal. He had other offers, including one from the Detroit Pistons that tempted him, but ultimately Jones wanted to come home. "For me, it's like coming full circle," Jones said. "I'm from the city. I spend all my time here and when the Heat hurt, even when I'm on another team, I still feel that pain. ... So for me, the interest from my hometown team superseded and outweighed all the other positives and pluses of the different cities, especially Detroit, that were looking for my services." The South Florida Sun-Sentinel first reported terms of the agreement, including a clause that makes the final three years conditional -- which ensures that Miami can still have maximum spending capability during the free-agent summer of 2010, the year that Dwyane Wade can opt out of his Heat contract. Jones Jones, who played at the University of Miami and has been with Indiana, Phoenix and Portland in his NBA career, is a 3-point specialist, and that's an area where the Heat clearly need an upgrade. Jones shot a career-best 44 percent from 3-point range last season. The Heat, as a team, shot 36 percent from beyond the arc a year ago. "Everyone knows I can shoot," said Jones, who got his deal done on the first day of this year's free-agent signing period. "I love to shoot. That's what I do. I try not to step on any toes, not try to do too much, but just do what I do well, which is make shots." It's unclear where exactly Jones will fit into the Heat rotation next season. Miami drafted Michael Beasley, who'll likely play some minutes at both forward positions. The Heat have a contract offer pending with restricted free-agent forward Dorell Wright and still have small forward Shawn Marion and power forward Udonis Haslem -- both of whom have been mentioned as possible trade candidates. Plus, the Heat will likely still seek some help at point guard (besides rookie Mario Chalmers) and center. "We're trying to develop and build our bench," Heat president Pat Riley said earlier this week. "I think we have to build our depth right now, first. I think that's the first priority before you make a big move." For his part, Jones doesn't care what role he plays, as long as he gets the chance to help the Heat erase the sting of last year's dreadful, injury-plagued 15-67 season. "If that means coming off the bench, if that means starting, if that means taking 10 shots, if that means taking one shot, for me, it's about being efficient and winning games," Jones said. "Coming here, I don't have any expectations about what position or which role I'll play. All I'm looking for is the opportunity to compete." Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:47:52 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288167 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288167 Following through on his vow to bolster his team's depth, Miami Heat President Pat Riley moved closer Tuesday to signing James Jones to a free-agent contract, extending a contract offer to the former University of Miami 3-point specialist. Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:29:34 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288047 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288047 Just back from Quicken Loans Arena; it took me three hours to get back to my hotel because of the snow. 24' covering the city; however, LeBron James provided plenty of fire tonight. 24 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds as LeBron notched his 7th triple double of the season. Need I say more? I've never seen a more physically talented player in the NBA, hands down. At this point in the NBA season I'd take LeBron over Kobe in a second. LeBron dominated the Blazers tonight in every aspect of the game. James didn't have a good shooting night early, but midway through the second he caught fire. By this time next year LeBron will be averaging a triple double, and I'll stand by that. Cavs fans, who cares if this kid reps the pin stripes, you've got to love a guy who's averaging 47.5 points in the past three games. The Blazers just didn't have an answer. When Brandon Roy got hot, they'd put LeBron on him and he was locked down. It's the same old story for the Blazers. The starters didn't come into the game playing well, and that transitioned to the bench play. Travis Outlaw needs to learn how to play the 3 position, James Jones has got to play better defense, and Martell's got to be better than 1-5 beyond the arch. I know we Blazer fans use the, "If we had Greg, things would be different" excuse over and over again, but tonight I think Greg would have really helped the team. The Blazers will continue to get better, but unfortunately this team would realistically have to go 14-3 the rest of the way out to even think playoffs. It's not in the cards this year Blazer fans. LeBron is the best player in the NBA. Portland got beat by the best player in the NBA. That's it from Cleveland...Goodnight Now! Mon, 10 Mar 2008 23:59:19 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/190513 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/190513 Your commissioner David Stern hates on the homers. And guess what? He watches games with two televisions! Tue, 04 Mar 2008 22:57:58 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/180951 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/180951 Before the past two games, it seems as if the Blazers' playoff chances were dust in the wind. However, after the Blazers encountered the two different LA teams these past couple days and all of that turned around an in instant. Brandon and James coming back from injury for the Lakers game sure helped, as did some resurgent play of Jarrett Jack to silence the haters. Watching the team play against the Lakers yesterday resembled the team that mustered the great December run. Can the Blazers bring back the cohesiveness and consistency and make a playoff push? The odds are heavily stacked against them, but if they can follow these steps then the Blazers might make the playoffs for the first time since 2003. 1 - Stay Healthy If the team can stay healthy for the most part, the chances are far more likely for them to make the playoffs. Recently, the Blazers realized they aren't the greatest team if the whole team isn't together. As long as no rotation player suffers a major setback, the team should be fine. 2 - Bench Scoring With the whole team healthy, the rotation is set and everyone knows what minutes they will get. That makes it a lot easier to produce for this young team if they are in a familiar role where they feel comfortable. Jarrett Jack struggled since James Jones went down, mainly because he had to play more of an off-guard and slasher, rather than the point with the ball in his hands. Travis needs to keep up his sixth man of the year candidacy to provide balance to the white unit. Travis, James, and Jarrett are the most important parts of the bench, and if they play good the team plays good. I'd like to see Von Wafer show us some more of his arsenal after his strong performance in the Clipper game. Sergio and Channing aren't key cogs in the bench scoring, but when they play within themselves they can make the difference in a game without a doubt. 3 - Brandon and Lamarcus Brandon Roy and Lamarcus Aldridge are the two players that make this team what they are. Brandon needs the ball in his hands when the pressure is on for the Blazers to win. He is our most poised player, and also has the highest basketball IQ on the team. Lamarcus needs to consistently hit his jumper that he has shown great progress with this season, as well as toughen up and bang down in the post. 4 - Three point shooting The Trail Blazers have a great shooting roster, and the hot shooting is what kept them in the win column almost all of December. James Jones and Steve Blake are probably the two best shooters on the squad, as their percentages show, and they need to hit their open shots for the Blazers to stay alive in the chase. Martell has been inconsistent most of the season, but when his shot is dropping there is no stopping him. He needs to find his stroke and deliver if he wants to stay a part of this team. 5 - Tough defense Joel Przybilla is the only player on the roster that brings physical defense and hustle night in and night out. The rest of the team needs to rally behind the energy he brings and force turnovers and challenge shots. 6 - REBOUNDING! The main knock on this Blazer team is their lack of rebounding. Its been an issue all season, but when the team rebounds well the results are good. If Joel, Lamarcus, Channing, and Raef can all step in and be an interior force on the boards. Our wing players such as Brandon, Travis, Martell, and James are pretty savvy rebounders for their position and any bit they contribute helps greatly. 7 - Hope for a lower seed team to slip Pretty much what is said above. The Blazers have to play lights out to have a shot, and have to have Houston, Golden State, and Denver all play decently. If these teams continue on their good play as of late you can kiss any chances goodbye. 8 - Road wins The Blazers don't have a favorable schedule these last two months of the season. They face almost all the teams ahead of them in the standings in the western conference. The record away from the Rose Garden this season hasn't been that great for the Blazers, and the team needs to deliver on the road for any chance. They don't have to win every game, because with all the quality teams they're facing there is no way they won't have even a minor slip up. The team just needs to win the games they are supposed to, and fight hard every game. Now, with all this being said, let me repeat that the chances of the Blazers to make the playoffs are slim. It is likely they will have to win 15 or more to have a chance, and there are only 23 games remaining. 12 of the remaining 23 are teams in the playoffs right now, and 10 of those are western conference playoff teams. So the Blazers will have to play absolutely to their potential for this to happen. I posted the remaining schedule below for all of you to see. @ Golden State Phoenix @ Milwaukee @ NY Knicks @ Cleveland @ Minnesota @ Sacramento Minnesota Phoenix LA Clippers @ LA Clippers @ Seattle Washington @ Golden State Charlotte @ LA Lakers Houston San Antonio LA Lakers @ Sacramento Dallas Memphis @ Phoenix Sat, 01 Mar 2008 21:57:51 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/176183 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/176183 Alright, let me start off by saying that I am a huge Blazers fan. I live and die by them. But since our magnificent month of December the wins just haven't been coming as easy. James Jones getting hurt was of course a big blow to the rotation, as his presence on the court may mean more than his actual basketball abilities sometimes. The defensive spacing and veteran leadership that Jones brings are much needed on a young, inconsistent team. However, since his injury it seems that most people blame our losing slump on the fact that we don't have Jones in our lineup. The Trail Blazers are a team that knows how to win shorthanded (see Greg Oden), and every other team plays a man down almost every night. I love it when the Blazers win, but the way I see it, the reason we are losing is because every team starts to step up after All-Star break. We all figured it was a matter of time before the Jazz and Rockets started to pick it up, and they have at teams like the Blazers expense. Injuries are a part of the game, and everyone deals with them. I'm tired of hearing them as an excuse. Of course every team would be better if every player was healthy, but thats hardly ever the case. I look forward to seeing the likes of Greg Oden, James Jones, and now Brandon Roy (please make it stop) get healthy and seeing how the Blazers can play with a healthy roster. Rip City, we need to stop making excuses for this team. To put it bluntly, the Blazers are not one of the better teams in the league. Losses are losses and wins are wins. A good team knows how to win games, and the team has shown flashes of greatness. I do believe in this team, and the core that KP and the gang have put together, but now simply is not our time. Wait for Greg to get some time with the team, and we'll go from there. Wed, 27 Feb 2008 02:56:59 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/169054 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/169054 Roy is getting an MRI tonight on his ankle. I sure hope he is alright. A chance to rest for a while should do him some good, but I hope his injury isn't too serious. The Blazers are tired. And the end of this season is going to get tougher schedule wise. We still have not even played the hated Lakers yet. Roy's body does need a rest. I just hope that he is alright! Go Blazers! Sun, 24 Feb 2008 21:45:59 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/165029 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/165029 I'm not exactly stoked about the prospects of one Von Wafer. I feel it's important to note that he will not be James Jones, so this trade was essentially our 5th string PG for a new 4th string SG. What we did do was trade away a quality citizen that was one of Greg Oden's closer friends on the team (Important to keep our young future happy/in good company? better not trade McRoberts), in exchange for a frequently waived player that had success as a McDonald's All-American and a 3pt specialist at FSU, but was suspended and benched multiple times during his two years at Florida State, and during his pre-Draft work-outs with the Phoenix Suns, became so agitated with the physical play of a fellow hopeful, that he elbowed him in the nose and walked off the court ending his work-out. I certainly believe in letting go of the past, and I know better than to doubt Kev Pritchard, so I'll choose to view this trade as Pritchard doing the best thing for Taurean's career, and just hope that Von can return to the days when he finished 2nd to LeBron in the McDonald's All-American Dunk Contest. Fri, 22 Feb 2008 13:43:00 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/160983 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/160983 Things have been a little frustrating lately for RIP City residents. I think it is helpful to remember a few things that can keep us grounded and focused on our bright future. We will be great. But, can Brandon do it by him self? No. Has LaMarcus Aldridge played consistently well this year? No. Will he learn to play consistent basketball? Of course he will. What about Blake? Actually Blake has been pretty great this year. But the rest of the team seems to be going through menopause lately. Lots of hot and cold spells. The thing I keep reminding myself is that they are young and learning how to win. The early preview of greatness that we were treated to in December may have spoiled us. Winning became something that the fans started to expect, but I think those expectations are more for next year and beyond. Jack still needs to learn how to turn the ball over WAY WAY less than he does now. Martell needs to learn to shoot consistently, as does James Jones. Sergio needs to learn how to shoot the ball a little better and maybe pass a little less flashy sometimes (when it ends up being a turnover rather than an assist). Travis needs the confidence to know that he is the most athletic player in the league and could probably take over any game he wanted to. But most of all, our boys just need time to figure it all out. They are growing up fast, but our window of a dynasty is still a ways out for us. Brandon seems to have a complete game, but we desperately need to get him some consistent help. Help that will show up every night. With Greg and Rudy coming in to the mix next year, our future looks bright. I think next year is going to be our year to break out of this inconsistency and the lotto as well. Thu, 14 Feb 2008 12:30:49 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/141259 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/141259 How does the 3-point affect the Blazers success? The addition of James Jones (currently No. 2 in the league in 3 point percentage) this season has been huge for the Blazers. His ability to stretch the defense and create space, while hitting threes, and been a critical component of the Blazers offense. While Jones is Portland's best threat from outside, he's not the only Blazer that can hit the deep ball. Brandon Roy, Steve Blake, Martell Webster, Jarrett Jack, and now Travis Outlaw have all shown the ability to contribute from beyond the arc. Wed, 13 Feb 2008 13:58:48 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/140660 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/140660 The night before, versus the Rockets, was a game that the Nuggets should have won easily, but it was as difficult a win as you will see. In this game, you had the same context, as it should have been an easy win for the Portland Trailblazers, but they made life overly difficult for themselves just as the Nuggets did to themselves the night before. But Portland did eventually beat the Nuggets, 99-96. Four injuries to two power forwards and two centers left the Nuggets with just one power forward and one center available. Plus, the Nuggets were playing on back to back nights on the road, whereas the Trailblazers were rested. But the Nuggets, with some great Iverson shooting, led 52-50 at the half. And they led 76-69 after 3 quarters, as the Trailblazers failed to take full advantage of the devastation to the Nuggets front court, by not taking it into the paint enough. At the very least, an NBA coach must "keep up with the Jones's," the Coaches of the top teams, with respect to keeping the reserves as ready to perform as possible, by giving them critical playing time on a regular basis. Instead of keeping up with the Jones's, Karl is busy limiting the potential of the Jones he has on his team. SCALE FOR THE REAL PLAYER RATINGS 1.60 More Superstar Performance beyond the Michael Jordan Level 1.40 1.60 Superstar Performance-Michael Jordan Level 1.20 1.40 Superstar Performance 1.00 1.20 Star Performance 0.90 1.00 Outstanding Game 0.80 0.90 Very Good Game 0.70 0.80 Good Game 0.60 0.70 Alright Game 0.50 0.60 Mediocre Game 0.40 0.50 Poor Game 0.30 0.40 Very Poor Game 0.20 0.30 Extremely Poor Game Less 0.20 Total Disaster 1. Carmelo Anthony, Den 1.298 2. Channing Frye, Por 1.160 3. Martell Webster, Por 1.148 4. LaMarcus Aldridge, Por 0.994 5. Allen Iverson, Den 0.984 6. Travis Outlaw, Por 0.921 7. James Jones, Por 0.681 8. Anthony Carter, Den 0.654 9. Steve Blake, Por 0.635 10. Brandon Roy, Por 0.634 11. J.R. Smith, Den 0.622 Note: Smith played only 9 minutes. 12. Joel Przybilla, Por 0.585 13. Linas Kleiza, Den 0.497 14. Eduardo Najera, Den 0.496 15. Jelani McCoy, Den 0.389 16. Jarrett Jack, Por 0.321 17. Chucky Atkins, Den 0.081 18. Bobby Jones, Den -0.014 Above is the first paragraph and the last paragraph of the game report, along with the Real Player Ratings for the game. There is much more at the link, more reporting and more revealing stats. . Thu, 27 Dec 2007 05:50:36 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/53570 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/53570 The Trailblazers won their 7th straight game by defeating the shorthanded Nuggets 116-105. The game was not as close as the final score suggests, because the score at the end of 3 quarters was 92-73, so the 4th quarter was largely though not totally garbage time. I say the Nuggets were shorthanded because they have their starting point guard, their backup power forward, and their backup center still out with injuries, and because George Karl made this bad situation worse by refusing to play qualified reserves. In this game, J.R. Smith, who is the fifth best player on the Nuggets if you look at the season to date Real Player Ratings, was benched and he will remain so for an indefinite period of time, until Karl becomes less upset about whatever he is upset about. You could have the most mentally tough team in the NBA, but if your players are not very athletic, or if your strategies or tactics are no good, you are definitely not going to go very far in the playoffs. The Nuggets have the abilities, but are lacking the strategies and tactics right now to be a major winning team, or to be able to go far in the playoffs. And I would say, for what it's worth, that the Nuggets are below average but by no means one of the worst teams in the League with respect to the mental toughness factor. The Nuggets just about lead the NBA in turnovers, which is an important clue that they are below average in mental toughness. But I know for a fact that the way Karl overreacts to the mental toughness factor with his rotation and benching decisions hurts the Nuggets even more than the turnovers do. NUGGETS-TRAILBLAZERS REAL PLAYER RATINGS All players who played 5 minutes or more are included. Any player who played only 5-9 minutes is noted. Channing Frye, Por 1.462 Sergio Rodriguez, Por 1.450 Played only 8 minutes Allen Iverson, Den 1.189 Brandon Roy, Por 1.115 Travis Outlaw, Por 0.979 Kenyon Martin, Den 0.886 James Jones, Por 0.880 Eduardo Najera, Den 0.861 Jarrett Jack, Por 0.777 Joel Przybilla, Por 0.703 Marcus Camby, Den 0.697 Steve Blake, Por 0.667 Linas Kleiza, Den 0.615 Carmelo Anthony, Den 0.576 Raef LaFrentz, Por 0.560 Anthony Carter, Den 0.559 Martell Webster, Por 0.244 Above is the 1st paragragh, the last paragraph, and the all new Real Player Ratings. There is much more at the link. Sat, 22 Dec 2007 04:04:18 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/51057 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/51057 Welcome back to the Passion and Pride Press Pass featuring the weekend coverage and Monday montage on MVN Basketball. For most teams, this is a tough spot in the schedule. We fight through it like a double screen. It's a team game, so here's the rotation... Tue, 04 Dec 2007 10:33:35 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/40466 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/40466 We all know what journalists do when they assess a player- they split stats, put their ear to the ground for juicy tidbits of gossip, interview other players who give political answers to simple questions. . . I'm not interested in tainted info. I want to know what I can expect to see from James Jones as he comes to the Blazers from Phoenix. From a fans point of view, what will his guy bring with him? Thu, 05 Jul 2007 16:54:05 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/18693 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/18693