Is Herb Jones the best non-big defender in the NBA?

Is Herb Jones the best non-big defender in the NBA?

When talking about who the best non-big man Defenders are in the NBA right now it’s really hard to have that conversation without bringing up herb Jones if you watch what he’s doing on a nightly basis in terms of who he has to guard as well as how much responsibility

He has on the defensive end you can see a guy whose impact is felt all over the floor at any given moment in their February matchup against the Clippers we saw him shut down a large portion of what the Clippers were trying to do offensively fighting over screens to

Vent those offscreen shots that the Clippers love to look for not allowing Harden to get a comfortable look from Deep with valent chunis in this High drop forcing Harden to give the ball up through a tight passing window and it gives the defense some time to recover with no Advantage created his length

Allows him to stun at the nail and recover to the pass without giving up an open shot and his frustratingly good on ball coverage makes even guys like James Harden give it up instead of trying to hunt for a shot throughout the entire game herb continuously hounded ball

Handlers and was impacting the defensive side of the ball whenever he was in a position to do so often times leading to live ball turnovers and allowing the Pelicans to get out and run in transition with herb Jones on the bench in this game the Clippers big three of

Harden kawhai and Paul George combined four seven of 11 from the field but when herb was on the floor they combined for six of 25 shooting from the field they held the Clippers to only 93.4 points per 100 possessions with herb on the floor versus 133 points per 100

Possessions without him in their most recent matchup against the Clippers Paul George is going to make this pass to Pal so that he can drive and herb is going to sink in and help pressure the ball and he helps onto zubot when valent chunis helps on to Powell the Clippers

Get the offensive rebound and the ball is going to make its way from Powell to Kawai and Paul George looks like he’s going to be wide open up top for the shot but herb is go from all the way in the restricted area and jump from just

Above the free throw line to absolutely eviscerate Paul George’s shot being able to cover this amount of ground onto a perimeter shooter after helping in the paint is some absolutely insane defensive Talent he can read offenses in a matter of seconds with elinux setting this screen for Gary Trent Jr to cut

With Barrett in the post and without giving up a corner pass to quickley he’s able to jump the pass and NAB the steel when pick and roll ball handlers are trying to make skip passes to Corners herb can cover a ton of ground in a split second and use that hilarious 7t

Wingspan to NAB interceptions this double drag action where the offense will have two screeners for the ball handler to drive usually prompts the corner man to come in and tag the roller and it gives up an open pass to the corner but with herb he’s able to tag

The roller and despite still being in the middle of the paint he can just just jump up and grab the ball right out of the air and get the steel on this pick and roll herb is going to tag and knowing that Jabari is going to have to

Either go through him or pass out to the corner herb just Rises up and blocks any of those options entirely and it forces the turnover the Pistons will try and use this flare screen for Killian Hayes to get the pass from Cade but herb is going to come all the way up from

Guarding the low Corner man and NAB the interception on this transition possession ston initially gets through the front line of defense forcing Nance to slide over leaving Collins wide open but herb tracks the ball the entire time and he stuffs Collins at The Rim he can

Sniff out off ball actions and shut them down before they can happen recognizing the Raptors want to get aaji the ball off this pin down from quickly but herb blocks off the pass and forces quickly and alen to get into a handoff instead and when alen rolls to the basket Jones

Is going to jump the passing Lane and NAB the steel on this play Grady dick is going to make this Baseline cut and you can hear herb tell Zion to stay there to help on any drive and as alen backs down on the post up he’s going to try and

Sling it to Grady in the corner but that’s what herb was expecting and he’s going to grab it out of the air there’s a NeverEnding debate about which is more important on ball defense or off ball defense and regardless of where you fall in that discussion what makes herb Jones

So great is that he does both at an extremely high level I’ve discussed this before but even the best defenses are going to end up in rotation because that’s just the nature of basketball especially in the NBA once a defense is put into rotation you’re then relying on

Your off ball Defenders to hold up where they need to and that guys are going to be able to know when to help or stay home depending on what the situation calls for the great thing about herb Jones is that he’s capable of flipping the switch between on ball and off ball

Defense at any given moment when a Defender has to provide help somewhere on the floor you’re usually going to give something up as a result of sending that help and that can hurt you elsewhere if you don’t have the Personnel to cover for whoever provided that help with herb Jones he’s able to

Help and recover extremely fast to help snuff out advantages and prevent teams from developing and capitalizing on them when teams are trying to run handoffs for Shooters he doesn’t always have to be perfect navigating the screen because his wingspan allows him to contest those shots regardless Kevin herder is going

To come from the corner so that he can get this hand off from sabonis and herb is going to go under it and usually if you go under a screen like this especially against a guy like Kevin herder it’s going to lead to an easy wide open shot for him coming off the

Screen but herb is going to jump to contest from well inside the three-point line and he’s still able to block the shot again it looks like Malik monk is going to get an easy look since herb went under the screen but he doesn’t need to be right up on you to contest

Your shot and he’s even going to be able to get the block teams are only scoring 67 points per possession off of handoffs when herb Jones is the primary Defender which is the fourth fewest points per possession allowed off of handoffs of any player in the NBA he’s able to

Navigate around off ball screens effectively and put himself in positions to shut down what offenses are trying to create the Nets are going to have Cam Johnson curl off this screen and meanwhile Trey Murphy is going to dig off of male Bridges prompting Bridges to set this exit screen in the corner for

Cam Thomas herb Jones recognizes what’s going on and he’s going to jump around the screen and close out on the shot and prevent cam Thomas from getting a wide open look when you pair his lateral quickness with his wingspan it’s pretty difficult for guys to get the ball and

Effectively create off the catch because he’s so good at shutting down drives to the basket that strength and size make it to where teams really can’t get a mismatch against him because even against a seven-footer like low marinin herb can hold his own and not get pushed

Off his spot and still make their life really difficult herb Jones is in a really interesting position as a player because he’s looked like a perfect candidate to slot into that quote unquote three and D role but the question mark since his rookie season was whether or not he was going to add

The three to three and D in the most recent episode of the media pass which is the podcast that I co-host with my good friend Matt Issa we discussed the archetype of defensive oriented non-shooting Wings SL forwards and whether or not that archetype of player can survive in today’s NBA without being

Able to space the floor out to the perimeter and Herb Jones was actually one of the players that we touched on in this discussion herb clearly has the defense part down but this year I think he’s shutting down the concerns that anyone might have about his perimeter

Shooting his volume has gone up from 2 and 1/2 attempts a night to 3 and 1/2 attempts per night which is still on the lower end in terms of volume but he’s also knocking down threes at a 43.3% clip this season which is up from 33% over his last two seasons You could

Argue already that the defense was enough to keep herb Jones on the floor regardless of what level his offense was at but with how much his offensive game has improved and how much his three-point shot has improved the Pelicans don’t have to feel like they’re sacrificing anything by having him out

There he can contribute to your spacing alongside Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram while providing the best defense you’re going to see from a non-center in the NBA and that’s not to say all he does on the offensive side of the ball is just stand in the corner and shoot

Threes I also think he’s a relatively underrated passer for his usage and he’s proven that he can be a very solid cutter so as as long as he continues to develop those complimentary aspects of his offensive game this guy is going to be a perennial all defense caliber

Player hope you guys enjoyed the video I’d really appreciate it if you consider leaving a like and subscribing if you want to see more stuff like this shout out to my patrons for supporting the channel go check out the media pass if you haven’t already we had some great conversation about non-shooting forward

SL wings and whether or not that archetype is dying in the NBA and how they have to adapt thank you guys so much for watching and I’ll see you in the next one

Herb Jones has been a major part of the New Orleans Pelicans emerging as one of the biggest dark horse threats in the Western Conference. The defense of Herb Jones is up there with some of the best that you’ll see from a wing/forward in the NBA, constantly shutting down some of the league’s best ball handlers.

Not only has Herb Jones solidified himself as an All-Defense caliber player, but he’s also developed the complimentary aspects of his offensive game. The three-point shot is exhibiting rapid growth. Alongside Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, it’s gonna be vital that Herb Jones can supplement his defense with the necessary amount of offense. If he can round out his overall offensive game, the New Orleans Pelicans are gonna be a nightmare to stop.

Herb Jones’ defense is elevating him to high-end role player status, but it’s almost enough for me to consider him a future defensive star. If the Pelicans continue to put it all together, watch out.

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