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Who do you think was the better player?

Eddie Jones

Eddie Jones.

Klay Thompson.

Nice analysis and argument there guys.

Similar roles. Klay was the superior scorer, he could get red hot and take over a game, Eddie Jones was more a flow of the offense guy. Eddie gives you a bit more playmaking but it's not something you really use either of them for. Eddie Jones was better defender though Klay gives you more size and was a good defender too. I'd take Klay here.

There's one more thing and it's much iffier. Eddie Jones had a rep while playing for coming up small in the clutch. Maybe because he wasn't a flamboyant personality but it was one of the knocks you heard on him while he was playing. I tend to discount things like that (for everyone but Chris Webber and maybe Joel Embiid) but it's not something you hear about Thompson.

penbeast0 wrote:Nice analysis and argument there guys.

My last comment was actually intended to follow this funny thread

durantbird wrote:

penbeast0 wrote:Nice analysis and argument there guys.

My last comment was actually intended to follow this funny thread

Try not to take your cues from newbies who don't know what they are doing yet.

Eddie was a better defender but Klay was a more dangerous spot up shooter. Slight edge to Eddie, imo.

penbeast0 wrote:There's one more thing and it's much iffier. Eddie Jones had a rep while playing for coming up small in the clutch. Maybe because he wasn't a flamboyant personality but it was one of the knocks you heard on him while he was playing. I tend to discount things like that (for everyone but Chris Webber and maybe Joel Embiid) but it's not something you hear about Thompson.

I wonder if that's because Thompson was part of a team that won multiple championships more so than his play itself. People tend to forget when players come up short when their teams win.

Just using some advanced stats as a shorthand/example - in the playoffs, discounting their post prime seasons:

Jones - 3.5bpm, 116 ortg, 57.5% TS, 21.1pts/100
Thompson - 0.5bpm, 108 ortg, 56% TS, 25.8pts/100

Jones looks to have an advantage offensively even without accounting for playing a significant chunk of his career in a tougher defensive environment - maybe Thompson faced tougher teams in the deeper playoff runs though, haven't looked that closely.

Klay/Jones RS career

PER 16.0/16.7
WS 55.2/100.6
VORP 16.8/42.3
BPM 0.6/3.1
TS+ 104/105
TS add +592.3/+696.3
ON/OFF +4.9/+5.8
RAMP 219th/78th

PS career

PER 13.7/15.1
WS/48 .083/.127
BPM +0.4/+3.2
ON/OFF -1.9/+3.7
TS .555/.560

Klay had his momemts thats for sure, but on regular day Jones was better player. He was way better defender, more efficiency and better all around player with better IQ.

I've always felt that Klay's style yields him to be underrated in box-score stats. He gets few assists because he spends very little time with the ball, but his off-ball movement and shooting threat draws significant defensive attention helping his teammates get easier shots.

I feel like pre-injury Klay was at least even with Jones (who was a better defender) for overall value and had a higher upside on a game-by-game basis.

Jones probably has the advantage in overall value through his career.

Great comparison.

Recency bias.. I would have to go Klay, but Jones was a hell of a playe, maybe even better all round player.

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Klay's whole reputation kind of rests on:
1. Him being #2 to Curry as the other splash brother, even though Draymond is multiple tiers ahead in impact
2. His ability to go absolutely nuclear as a scorer in some games, which was really only relevant once in a title run (18 Rockets G6). In that same series, he averaged 10.3 points on 40.8% TS over G2-4. People only remember Klay's big games but there is a reason his overall postseason averages are as mediocre as they are.

Once you look past that, you are left with a player who, in comparison to Jones, is worse in most facets of the game and is overall worse in both box and non box stats. And that despite enjoying a huge boost in raw efficiency from his team and era (see his 3P% with and without Curry). Unless it's a team that desperately needs more scoring volume, I would comfortably pick Jones here.

Eddie was the better player. Klay is the better shooter, but Eddie was better at everything else

Klay was having an awesome finals vs Toronto before he got hurt and had some incredible playoff moments pre-KD. His next few years would’ve been interesting had he been healthy because he was starting to look like more of a complete player. Give me the what-if version of Klay.

DirtyDez wrote:Klay was having an awesome finals vs Toronto before he got hurt and had some incredible playoff moments pre-KD. His next few years would’ve been interesting had he been healthy because he was starting to look like more of a complete player. Give me the what-if version of Klay.

This x100. Can't really speak to this specific comparison as I've watched so much more Klay than I have Jones, but it really does feel like injuries robbed us of the most complete version of Klay we could have seen