James Jones Enjoying NBA Success
Portland Trail Blazer Jones NBA's Best Three-Point Shooter
Jones has played with three different NBA teams during his four-year career and enjoyed moderate success but is now emerging as one of the league's best young shooters
When the University of Miami's James Jones was selected 49th overall in the 2003 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers his tutelage by one of the league's greatest shooters began. Playing under Reggie Miller's wing, Jones would see only 26 minutes of floor time and hit just one three-point shot during his first season but would be a student of the player who has made the most three-pointers in NBA history. He would sit on the bench to watch the Pacers' 2004 playoff run but would take on a much more important role the following season.
The 2004-05 Indiana Pacers season can be characterized by two important elements: one, Reggie Miller claimed it would be the final season of his 18-year career; and, two, James Jones would emerge as a possible heir to Miller. Jones' emergence had something to do with another important element of Indiana's season: November 19th, 2004, was the date of the infamous Pacers-Pistons "Malice at the Palace" brawl that resulted in the suspension of five Pacer players. This would ultimately result in more playing time for Jones and his impact was immediate. The night following the melee in Detroit he recorded the first double-double of his career with 12 points and 12 rebounds against the Orlando Magic. Eight days later, on November 28th, he scored a career-high 27 points against the Seattle Sonics, including a career-best 6 three-point field goals. He scored in double figures in 13 games and averaged 4.3 points per game in a season that saw him play in 75 games and start 24 of them. He also led the Pacers in three-point field goal percentage (.398) -- Miller averaged .322 -- and ranked 25th in the league in that category. Despite the rippling effect of the brawl the Pacers managed to make it into the 2005 playoffs as the sixth seed with 44 wins and 38 losses.
Jones played his first career playoff game against the Boston Celtics in game one of the 2005 playoffs and scored four points, two assists, two rebounds and a steal in 15 minutes. In game four Jones recorded 11 points and nine rebounds while the Pacers sufferred their worst-ever playoff defeat as the Celtics won by 31 points. The Pacers ended up winning a hard fought seven-game series against the Celtics and Jones shot 9-17 (.529) from three-point range in the series to help the Pacers move on to play the Detroit Pistons. Despite a glorious and emotional effort from Miller the Pacers could not overcome the mighty Pistons in the second round. This marked the end of the Pacers' season and Miller's career, but it likely stood as the beginning of Jones' existence in the NBA.
After drafting forward Danny Granger in the 2005 NBA draft, and witnessing the return of Stephen Jackson and Ron Artest from suspension, the Pacers had no room for Jones. In August of 2005, Jones was traded to the Phoenix Suns for the Suns' 2008 second-round draft pick and cash considerations. Jones would continue to flourish and his statistics increased dramatically in his first season with Phoenix. In the 2005-06 season Jones averaged a then career-best 9.3 points while playing over 23 minutes per game, up over 5 minutes from the previous season's average. He scored in double figures 34 times, hit a career-high 110 three-pointers, and scored 22 points twice while coming off the bench. He also had his first playoff career start against the Los Angeles Lakers, scoring eight points and grabbing five rebounds in game four of their first-round playoff series. In game two of the Conference Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, Jones displayed his defensive prowess by blocking six shots, just one short of the franchise playoff record. The Suns fell short of the title but Jones' stock continued to rise.
The 2006-07 season saw Jones' numbers take a slight dip as he contended for playing time on a roster featuring many impressive young players. His numbers were also negatively affected by the introduction of a microfiber composite ball by the league. In the first 23 games he played with the ball, Jones averaged 3.1 points, an NBA-low .253 field goal percentage, and an uncharacteristic .317 three-point field goal percentage. Fortunately for Jones, the NBA re-introduced the original leather ball and his statistical averages climbed to 7.8 points, a .400 field goal percentage, and a .391 three-point percentage over the last 53 games. He scored in double figures 21 times and was selected as a starter for the club's first six playoff games after only five starts in the regular season. He scored a playoff career-high 12 points in one game against the Lakers in the first round but the Suns were stopped in the second round by the eventual-champion San Antonio Spurs.
In June of 2007 the cash-strapped Suns traded Jones to the Portland Trail Blazers for the Blazers' 24th pick in the 2007 draft (Rudy Fernandez). Jones would now join a team boasting several young, promising players, including last season's rookie of the year, Brandon Roy, second-year standout LaMarcus Aldridge, and Greg Oden, last year's first-overall draft pick who was unfortunately injured before the regular season began. The Blazers are currently the hottest team in the NBA having won 11 straight games. Jones is making a significant contribution to their success in a reserve role, averaging a career-high 9.5 points and leading the entire league in three-point field goal percentage (.529). He is quickly establishing himself as one of the league's most proficient shooters.
Jones will likely never break his mentor Reggie Miller's three-point records but hopefully he can find his own place in the annals of the NBA shooter history books. He does have a lot of shots to make if he is ever to catch Miller as Miller connected on 2,265 more three-point field goals than Jones has to date. However, their career averages are eerily similar (.395 for Miller versus .396 for Jones, as of 12/26/07).
