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I've wondered why Jonas Jerebko doesn't play more as a stretch four or big 3 who can shoot. I've read that he is a lock down defender and can shoot the three passably. Am I wrong about this?

He's a terrible defender.

He's not very good at anything. He's definitely not a good defender, stuck in between 2 positions. He can't shoot great. He was great as an energy guy, but he's drifted from that since his injury, and seems to try too hard to establish himself as something he is not capable of being.


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He's certainly a step slow against SFs but he shouldn't have much trouble defending 4's as long as he plays his man and not the passing lanes.

His rookie year JJ did a passable job defending 3's because he was able to use his length to his advantage. He wasn't a lockdown defender by any stretch of the imagination, but he had success in certain matchups. Since returning from injury that cost him him sophomore season he's filled out a bit and lost some lateral quickness.

Now he's a stretch 4 without the strength to defend bigger PF's. But he continues to work hard, improve his shot and hopefully is still getting stronger. He'll likely never be starting quality, but he could still turn himself into a solid backup PF. Unfortunately he's got Monroe/Smith ahead of him on that depth chart atm, though.

Cowology wrote:His rookie year JJ did a passable job defending 3's because he was able to use his length to his advantage. He wasn't a lockdown defender by any stretch of the imagination, but he had success in certain matchups. Since returning from injury that cost him him sophomore season he's filled out a bit and lost some lateral quickness.

Now he's a stretch 4 without the strength to defend bigger PF's. But he continues to work hard, improve his shot and hopefully is still getting stronger. He'll likely never be starting quality, but he could still turn himself into a solid backup PF. Unfortunately he's got Monroe/Smith ahead of him on that depth chart atm, though.

How many bigger physical PFs are even out there though?

I liked him when he played more inside. Now he's more of a SF instead of a PF/C.

sc8581 wrote:

Cowology wrote:His rookie year JJ did a passable job defending 3's because he was able to use his length to his advantage. He wasn't a lockdown defender by any stretch of the imagination, but he had success in certain matchups. Since returning from injury that cost him him sophomore season he's filled out a bit and lost some lateral quickness.

Now he's a stretch 4 without the strength to defend bigger PF's. But he continues to work hard, improve his shot and hopefully is still getting stronger. He'll likely never be starting quality, but he could still turn himself into a solid backup PF. Unfortunately he's got Monroe/Smith ahead of him on that depth chart atm, though.

How many bigger physical PFs are even out there though?

Not many. Certainly true that our PF's of the 80's-90's are our C's of today. Just trying to give an unbiased evaluation of strengths/weaknesses.

MotownMadness wrote:I liked him when he played more inside. Now he's more of a SF instead of a PF/C.

The irony here is that he was effective playing inside because he was playing SF!! He had a height/size advantage against opposing 3's. At PF he can still kinda put the ball on the floor, but it's his ability to shoot that opens up those lanes for him and others. He's not super effective posting up against the same size or bigger than him.

What I really liked about JJ was his hustle and scrappyness and I don't think that has been quite the same since his rookie season.

Cowology wrote:

sc8581 wrote:

Cowology wrote:His rookie year JJ did a passable job defending 3's because he was able to use his length to his advantage. He wasn't a lockdown defender by any stretch of the imagination, but he had success in certain matchups. Since returning from injury that cost him him sophomore season he's filled out a bit and lost some lateral quickness.

Now he's a stretch 4 without the strength to defend bigger PF's. But he continues to work hard, improve his shot and hopefully is still getting stronger. He'll likely never be starting quality, but he could still turn himself into a solid backup PF. Unfortunately he's got Monroe/Smith ahead of him on that depth chart atm, though.

How many bigger physical PFs are even out there though?

Not many. Certainly true that our PF's of the 80's-90's are our C's of today. Just trying to give an unbiased evaluation of strengths/weaknesses.

JJ might be our best option to start at PF to be honest lol

Jonas is the result of a mad Swedish scientist creating a test tube baby out of Brian Scalabrine and Brian Cardinal's respective DNA.

Honestly, if Smith were to get hit by a buss I'd be perfectly OK with...

PF: Monroe (20)/Jerebko (28)
C: Drummond (36) / Monroe (12)

Or something along those lines. I've always been a big JJ fan.

Cowology wrote:

MotownMadness wrote:I liked him when he played more inside. Now he's more of a SF instead of a PF/C.

The irony here is that he was effective playing inside because he was playing SF!! He had a height/size advantage against opposing 3's. At PF he can still kinda put the ball on the floor, but it's his ability to shoot that opens up those lanes for him and others. He's not super effective posting up against the same size or bigger than him.

What I really liked about JJ was his hustle and scrappyness and I don't think that has been quite the same since his rookie season.

His rookie season when he was actually good he was our starting PF I believe. He has some range but you dont want him camping out on the 3 point line. You want him inside hustling for putbacks and rebounds.

MotownMadness wrote:

Cowology wrote:

MotownMadness wrote:I liked him when he played more inside. Now he's more of a SF instead of a PF/C.

The irony here is that he was effective playing inside because he was playing SF!! He had a height/size advantage against opposing 3's. At PF he can still kinda put the ball on the floor, but it's his ability to shoot that opens up those lanes for him and others. He's not super effective posting up against the same size or bigger than him.

What I really liked about JJ was his hustle and scrappyness and I don't think that has been quite the same since his rookie season.

His rookie season when he was actually good he was our starting PF I believe. He has some range but you dont want him camping out on the 3 point line. You want him inside hustling for putbacks and rebounds.

Eh, he kinda split his time but that was the year that Tay got hurt and missed 30+ games which is how JJ got thrust into the starting lineup. Then he also split starts with Maxiell and our rotation of crappy bigs at PF too.

MotownMadness wrote:

Cowology wrote:

MotownMadness wrote:I liked him when he played more inside. Now he's more of a SF instead of a PF/C.

The irony here is that he was effective playing inside because he was playing SF!! He had a height/size advantage against opposing 3's. At PF he can still kinda put the ball on the floor, but it's his ability to shoot that opens up those lanes for him and others. He's not super effective posting up against the same size or bigger than him.

What I really liked about JJ was his hustle and scrappyness and I don't think that has been quite the same since his rookie season.

His rookie season when he was actually good he was our starting PF I believe. He has some range but you dont want him camping out on the 3 point line. You want him inside hustling for putbacks and rebounds.

This,he was always better used inside,playing scrappy defense,and going after rebounds and put backs.Then he got hurt and mentally he was never the same,he gave up the scrappy atitude and the hustling and banging for those putback and rebounds and opted for more of a stretch 4 game.

For what its worth he did shoot 42% from 3 this season the best on our team (Not much competition) albeit in limited minutes.

I miss rookie Jerebko. I hope he comes back this year

dVs33 wrote:I miss rookie Jerebko. I hope he comes back this year

That man is gone.

I think everyone loved rookie JJ. He had a season ending injury in a pre-season game the next year and we never saw that player again. What returned was player who stopped hustling, and looked for his own shot, even though he rarely gets it going.

He's an expiring contract to me, little more. Maybe SVG can massage some life back into him? I'm sure JJ will do everything he can to help his next payday, but I won't hold my breath.

He's like Beasley, he's stuck between a 3 and a 4 which is holding their careers back..

Get him shots in the flow of the offense and see what happens, I see no reason he can't play the 4 in nearly every matchup out there and if his shot is falling around 40% from beyond the arc again he's a huge contributor especially if Moose or Smith aren't around.