Jared Sullinger or Terrence Jones?

[jonathanlambert33]

Thought this was a very interesting debate. If you could have either player two years from now, who would you take?

 

[BwareDWare94]

The one without injury, weight, and physical limitation problems. 

Plus, Jones is already the better player, imo.
 
I know I'll probably get called a homer but how close is it, really?

 

[Mexi]

Sully

 

[BwareDWare94]

Sully

 
Why? Sullinger is one bad back injury away from disaster.

 

[RipCity32]

This is going to turn into a bosox vs. dware thread.
 
I'd go with Jones though. Sullinger is not a very efficient scorer. Plus the injury concerns. Personally see more upside in Jones than Sullinger. 

 

[CameronCrazy06]

This is going to turn into a bosox vs. dware thread.
 
I'd go with Jones though. Sullinger is not a very efficient scorer. Plus the injury concerns. Personally see more upside in Jones than Sullinger. 

 
I was about to say, this is a matchup of epic proportions haha. I wish I could troll both.

 

[jonathanlambert33]

I actually agree with you BWare.

Obviously the biggest factor in a NBA offense is the ball screen game, and I see a guy in Jones that has room to be exceptional there. He has the size, length, athleticism, and instincts to be a good roll man. He also has the awareness and ability to read the defense. He doesn't waste time taking contested inefficient mid range jumpers. Whether he rolls or pops he gets to the open area and he does it without wasted movement. By doing this he shoots a good percentage and draws a good amount of fouls. Where as Sullinger almost always pops and as a result is very inefficient, draws fewer fouls, and somehow also turns the ball over at a higher rate.

Sullinger also had a shit ton more post ups than Jones, but Houston needs to spend less time trying to post Dwight Howard up and more time giving the ball to Jones. He's real crafty and effective. Shoots 50% in the post, draws a foul 13% of the time, and only turns it over 8% of the time. Compare that to Sullinger who's at 43%, 5%, and 15%.

Jones is also a magician cutting off the ball. Maybe it's more due to who he is playing with, but 71% from the field on cuts is no joke. Blake Griffin shoots 67% for comparisons sake.

Can't really compare the two defensively as they play very different styles. Sullinger is more of a in the paint around the rim guy while Jones plays more out towards the 3pt line.

 

[BwareDWare94]

Well you won't have to troll me, because as of right now, I'm right lol. I won't even get into a lengthy debate about it. There's no point--a spade's a spade.
 
I actually agree with him that Sully does have potential, but he has to avoid injury and become leaner to try to improve his athleticism, imo. He's trimmed up quite a bit already, but dude should get rid of more, if at all possible. If Kevin Love can become the thin fucker he is now, so can Jared Sullinger.

 

[CameronCrazy06]

I don't think it's as cut and dry as you think. They both played different roles on their two teams. Lots of Sullinger's inefficiencies are due to his role on the Celtics, whereas Jones' offense is more or less handed to him on a silver platter by opposing defenses who are focused on three other players before they even think of him. I don't think Jones would be anymore successful in Sullinger's role this year than Sullinger was himself

 

[BwareDWare94]

I think I think it's cut and dried based on potential, which I honestly don't think there's any comparison. 

 

[CameronCrazy06]

How does Terrence Jones have THAT much potential? I mean he should turn out to be a good pro but is he going to be a star? Someone other than BWare answer that

 

[BwareDWare94]

Come on, now. I can give you a subjective answer.
 
The answer is very simply that nobody knows his ceiling. He has very nice post moves and finishes well around the basket. If Houston were to post him up more often (as they should), I think it'd be more obvious. Right now, as a Dwight sidekick, he's pretty much relegated to garbage buckets, receiving dishes on his excellent slashing to the hoop, and trying like hell to improve his jump shot. If Terrence Jones becomes a 3 point threat, he has no offensive limitations outside of size, in certain matchups.
 
On defense, he's too small against taller traditional 4s, so that limits his 2 way potential in an every game sense. Otherwise, he's an average defender whose main problem is paying attention. If he gets better at following through screens and basic P&R defense, he can be a pretty good defender. As of right now he's solid, a great shot blocker, and a very good rebounder. At times he loses his man while watching the ball, but that's very fixable.
 
The very thing that could limit Terrence Jones is the players around him forcing him into a secondary role. I think Houston needs to reel in Parsons on the offensive side of the ball in favor of Jones, personally. It's time or Parsons to concentrate on defense. 

 

[bosoxlover12]

I will say this:

Terrence Jones would fail if he and Sullinger would switch spots. And I don't think that's even arguable.

 

[BwareDWare94]

I will say this:

Terrence Jones would fail if he and Sullinger would switch spots. And I don't think that's even arguable.

 
Then you, quite frankly, haven't been watching Terrence Jones play. Not that I've been watching Sullinger 24/7, but I've seen him here and there and I just don't like his limitations. He's a fine player, considering, but his ceiling is the ceiling in a hobbit hole. 

 

[bosoxlover12]

Everyone has a tinted glass to their view of basketball. Sal has a pretty big Pistons' tint, I have a solid Celtics tint, Nola has a Pels tint, CC has a Duke tint, etc

But aside for Mexi, who is just plain ridiculous often, your tinted glass is by far the most strong. You view basketball in such a b/w viewpoint that it's ridiculous. I have never seen you once complain about a call that was supposed to go in Miami's favor, but didn't. It's never "the Rockets players didn't step up", it's "the refs screwed us".

You are calling Terrence Jones a very good player, based on his open looks as the #5 option on his team, gets rebounds because teams focus on boxing out Dwight, and attack the basket to avoid Dwight. He's always been the last option who gets the least attention; happened at Kentucky and happens now in Houston.

Sullinger towards the mid-end of the year was pretty damn solid. He managed to average like 15-9 almost every game, with the opposition's best post defender on him. He had a 20reb game, and multiple 20+ point games.

I simply cannot see how you can say TJ is better than sully, when jones hasn't proven anything. Sully has at least proved he can have really good games

 

[Mexi]

I just like sully

 

[BwareDWare94]

I have a very realistic view of each Rocket. If you paid attention, you'd see it. While you're spot on about the "tinted view" thing when it comes to everybody here, I think you're equating the abrasive way that I admittedly entered this site to the way I am, now. 
 
Did you see the offseason letters to each Houston player thread? Honest, down to Earth assessments. There's no difference between the way I view Jones and the way you view Sully. Good for Sullinger on having a few 20 point games. Go back and look at TJones through 82. He had more than a handful of 20+ point games and a few 30 pointers, IIRC.
 
I've routinely bashed James Harden, who I don't even think is a top 10 NBA player. The homer glasses aren't as prominent as you're implying.
 
Also, calling someone a homer is pointless. Good players are good players. I was wrong about Kyle Lowry a few years ago, even if I am looking less and less wrong the longer he's in Toronto.
 
I've picked out 3 Houston players in my time at this site as guys I've seen come into the league as Rockets with a ton of potential. I was right about Parsons. I was wrong about Marcus Morris, though he was one of the Suns' most improved players this past season. The jury's out on Jones, but I think he's a few improvements in very easy to improve areas away from becoming a very very good power forward.
 
And he's a 5th option, really? I don't think so. Teams don't exactly respect Chandler, yet. It's not like teams focus on him.
 
It's Dwight and James and fuck the rest, for defenses. Ain't nobody giving Parsons any more attention than they give Jones.

 

[CameronCrazy06]

I just like sully

 
You win this topic haha

 

[CameronCrazy06]

And Jones is really the 4th person defenses will concern themselves with when playing Houston, behind Howard, Harden, and Parsons. You could argue teams focus more on Lin when he's in the game, too.

 

[Hurricane Season]

"Is Bazemore an 8th man or 10th man?"

This topic, pretty much.