The case for Tyus Jones to start for the Timberwolves

It’s been a long time coming for the Minnesota native since entering the league. On Sunday, Tyus Jones gained his first career start after three years of waiting, and proved to many why he should be Minnesota’s starting point guard.

Tyus Jones has always had a little extra love here in Minnesota; the Twin Cities native was, of course, one of the top recruits to come out the state. Winning a championship with the Duke Blue Devils, Jones thought he was ready to take the next step.

Many people believed that he should have waited another year to develop his game further. To this day, it does appear that he could of used the extra year to develop. However, while his stats don’t necessarily blow you away in his first few seasons, Jones has provided Minnesota with heart and 110 percent effort whenever he steps on the floor.

It has been an up-and-down career to this point, but it appears that the Apple Valley native may have found an opening towards the starting position. While Jeff Teague has done a good job for the most part, he does have a lot of glaring issues that are noticeable in each game.

Defense

One big issue with Teague is his inability to play defense. Here is two examples that sum up his defensive effort on the season:

Sure, Teague does average 1.8 steals a game, but his defense is largely non-existent. According to ESPN.com, there are 24 point guards that average a steal or more per game, so it isn’t all that eye-popping.

When Jones enters the game, the defense is completely different. He brings an aggressive play that never lacks effort. In his first career start against the Phoenix Suns, he came away with seven steals…and two blocks.

Watch this video of his start the other night, you will be able to see that he is always active on defense, and understands what is going on.

Jones is now averaging one steal this season in only 16 minutes of play per game. If you compare Jones to Teague when it comes to per-36 numbers, Jones actually comes out ahead in terms of steals. According to NBA.com, Jones would average 2.3 steals a game, whereas his counterpart would only average 1.9 steals a game.

To summarize, Jones is a lot more active on defense, and causes the rest of the team to follow in his footsteps.

Sharing is Caring

Jones is a pass-first point guard who wants to get his teammates involved. Teague, on the other hand, is someone who would rather score the ball than pass.

Now, on a team that has Jimmy Butler, Andrew Wiggins, and Karl-Anthony Towns in the starting lineup, there are quite a few mouths to feed; even Taj Gibson has shown that he can score the ball this season. For this team to be successful, Minnesota needs the Big Three to score 20-plus each night. That is how teams like the Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Washington Wizards, and the old LeBron James-led Miami Heat are/were able to win games.

I would assume that almost everyone would agree that they would rather see Wiggins, Butler, and Towns average 20-plus per night instead of seeing Teague take the shots away from them. When Jones started the other night, he was able to get everyone involved. Here are the stat lines from the starters against the Suns.

• Jones: 3-6 FG, 1-3 3-pointers, 9 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 7 steals, 2 blocks
• Towns: 12-26 FG, 2-6 3-pointers, 32 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block
• Wiggins: 8-18 FG, 4-6 3-pointers, 21 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
• Butler: 11-19 FG, 0-1 3-pointers, 25 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 1 block
• Gibson: 8-12 FG, 16 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal

Instead of taking away shots from the best offensive players on the team, Jones instead passesd the ball around in order for his teammates to score. He only took six shots, and made three of them. He won’t take a lot of shots away from other players, but when called upon, he will be effective. In watching Sunday’s game, it was noticeable that the offense flows better, and everyone is moving around when Jones enters the game.

That is what Jones bring’s to the table for Minnesota’s offense. Jones when called upon will take and make the shot, but if he isn’t wide open, then he will usually make the smart play and pass it around.

To this point in the young season, Jones also has the better offensive rating, sitting at 109.7, compared to Teague’s 108.2. In turn, Jones has a better net rating with it standing at 3.4.

One other main thing that is a huge reason to start Jones over Teague, is that Jones is not necessarily another mouth to feed. Teague is a scorer who could fill that role off the bench. Whereas in the starting lineup, there are too many scoring options that in turn causes a lot of issues.

Good things happen when Jones plays

In Jones’ single NBA start, his net ratings came out looking awesome. Sure, it’s an absurdly small sample, but here is a look at the two compared when they both start, according to NBA.com.

Offensive Net Rating:

Jones: 128.7
Teague: 108.2

Defenisve Net Rating:

Jones: 96.7
Teague: 106.2

Net Rating:

Jones: 31.8
Teague: 2.0

It would be hard to see Jones keeping these numbers up if he were to continue to be the starter. But, if the one start is any indicator, then it may be time to start Jones.

Even coming off the bench, Jones practically beats the Teague in every category. Often times the bench is the reason Minnesota loses games because of some poor play. But, credit Jones for being able to be a bright spot.

High Praise

Jones has gotten a lot of praise from his teammates and the fans. Just because Teague has been in the league longer (and has a bigger contract) doesn’t mean he should be the starter. If Jones continues to outplay Teague, then there should be no reason not to start him.

Next: Wolves Film Breakdown: Tyus' big night

Stay tuned to Dunking With Wolves for thoughts on Wolves-Wizards after the game on Tuesday night.