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Since he entered the Nuggets' lineup, he sparked an altruistic attitude in the altitude. He plays team-first, team-second. And he plays defense like the first quarter is the fourth quarter. That's right, Dahntay Jones has jolted the Nuggets (oh, and Chauncey Billups has helped, too).

While Billups' homecoming is cause for a hootenanny, there has been an underlying story line to the new-look Nuggets, and that's the new shooting guard Jones. He averages 18.5 minutes per game — eighth on the Nuggets — and Jones has started every game since the Allen Iverson-Billups trade, often setting the tone with his hungry defense. It's safe to say that the Nuggets' master plan wasn't to trade Iverson in order to create a starting job for Jones. But since Jones' insertion into the lineup, it's as if the Denver chemists have cooked up a perfect formula.

"He's a runner and a defender. My first unit has a tendency of committing to running up and down the court hard," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "The pace of the game is important to me. Sometimes in the past, convincing a team to play at the pace I want has been difficult. Guys who play 35 or 40 minutes have a tendency to conserve their energy, and that's not how I want to play.

"You need one guy in the starting lineup who spikes up their commitment."

corona wrote:its such bogus.

he has a PER of 9.4 at SG, which is simply terrible...while his opponent PER at sg is 19. his +/- is terrible. he averages more turnovers than assists. hasn't made a 3 this season. his FT% has plummeted since the first couple games, he doesn't rebound well....ad nauseum.

and to top it all off...statistically speaking denver's defense is better without him on the court. by 5 points per 100 possessions.

and whats even more pathetic is that he's playing almost exclusively with the starting unit...yet still can't produce worth a rats ass.

karl pisses me off.

and to take this further...
http://www.82games.com/0809/0809DEN2.HTM

look at the billups/smith/melo/martin/nene 5 man unit compared to others.
123 offensive points per 100 possessions vs. 76 defensive points allowed per 100 possessions. they have the best +/- of any unit. they have the second best rebound rate. and they don't play together. how dumb is that?

corona wrote:look at the billups/smith/melo/martin/nene 5 man unit compared to others.
123 offensive points per 100 possessions vs. 76 defensive points allowed per 100 possessions. they have the best +/- of any unit. they have the second best rebound rate. and they don't play together. how dumb is that?