For those in the know, does matt have a serious life long injury/condition? He is such a smart player that knows the game but physically he looks like it's a struggle to even get up and down the court. He's always been slouched over with poor posture but something seem really wrong? Maybe a back or vertebrate arthritis issue? This isn't a strained ankle issue, he just seems in such slow motion. I don't know. Something seems off.
Matt Jones health
- Thread starter Get Nasty
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I think hes just one of those guys that looks slower on TV than he really is. He can beat people off the dribble.
I haven't noticed much of a difference. But to the extent we've seen him get beat more off the dribble, I think that's just b/c who he's being asked to defend. Matt Jones is a very solid defender who does a good job against bigger bodied guards and wings. However, he lacks the lateral footspeed to stay in front of very quick guards who are good off the dribble.
Last year, Matt was rarely, if ever, asked to guard PGs and quick SGs b/c Quinn Cook and Tyus Jones were assigned those responsibilities. This year, by contrast, Matt is often being asked to defend the opponent's PG whenever Thornton is not in the game -- as Jones is a better on ball defender than Allen and Kennard + Allen is too valuable on offense to risk getting him in foul trouble trying to stay in front of other team's principal ballhandler. IMO, if anything, Matt's just a victim of the matchups we're giving him whenever Thornton's not on the court.
Also, it doesn't help that Matt's offense has been pretty abysmal. While obviously he's hardly to blame in the Clemson - Syracuse stretch, Matt missed a few big late game shots that I think are messing with his confidence.
Last year, Matt was rarely, if ever, asked to guard PGs and quick SGs b/c Quinn Cook and Tyus Jones were assigned those responsibilities. This year, by contrast, Matt is often being asked to defend the opponent's PG whenever Thornton is not in the game -- as Jones is a better on ball defender than Allen and Kennard + Allen is too valuable on offense to risk getting him in foul trouble trying to stay in front of other team's principal ballhandler. IMO, if anything, Matt's just a victim of the matchups we're giving him whenever Thornton's not on the court.
Also, it doesn't help that Matt's offense has been pretty abysmal. While obviously he's hardly to blame in the Clemson - Syracuse stretch, Matt missed a few big late game shots that I think are messing with his confidence.
As the rules continue to trend towards less and less hand contact by defenders it is going to hurt the Matt Jones of the world who lack the elite lateral quickness to stay in front of the smaller quicker guards. I don't think Matt is getting slower, but the type of guys he is asked to guard (as cited above) coupled with the fact that referees are looking for any type of hand contact is leading to worse results. Kawhi Leonard is an all world defender at the next level, but if you don't think he uses his strength to slow people down you aren't looking close enough. If Leonard played under the same scrutiny that college athletes are playing under, he wouldn't be as effective.