Guard Tre Jones came off the bench for the Bulls in the preseason opener and helped spearhead a narrow win after a slow start by the first unit.
On Thursday night, he was in the starting lineup in the rematch against the Cavaliers, again doing whatever was asked of him.
There’s a reason the Bulls quickly jumped on re-signing Jones to a three-year, $24 million deal in the offseason. He’s a do-whatever-it-takes, no-nonsense player.
“He just kind of makes things happen,” coach Billy Donovan said. “He finds guys on cuts, back cuts. He gets to the basket. He’s very calm, got a good IQ, and, yeah, I kind of said it last year — he’s got that ‘it’ factor. He just makes plays.”
Jones returning to full health after injuries last season was a significant factor in Lonzo Ball becoming expendable to trade to Cleveland for Isaac Okoro in July. Although Jones isn’t the disruptor Ball is on defense, he is a pest in that regard, as well as a pass-first point guard like Ball is. Unlike the chronically injured Ball, however, he should be more available to fill his role.
“It might not be points, rebounds, assists, and it might not even show up in the box score, but, I mean, [I’m] just trying to do what I can to help the team by putting us in the best position to win games,” said Jones, who finished with 10 points, seven assists and five rebounds Thursday as the Bulls won 119-112. “It might be guarding one night, it might be scoring one night, it might be just finding guys and those things. [I’ll] do whatever I can when I’m out there.”
Jones spent his first five seasons with the Spurs and understands sacrificing for the good of the team. He also knows when he’s part of a good product on the court and believes the Bulls can sneak up on the rest of the Eastern Conference this season.
“We have a really good group, and I feel like we’re really coming together early in the year,” Jones said. “You don’t always get that feeling.”
We’ll see about White
Guard Coby White hasn’t made any significant progress in his recovery from a strained calf, but he also hasn’t had any setbacks. Donovan is still holding out hope he’ll be ready for the season opener in less than two weeks.
“With the way we’re trying to play and how much time he’s missed, he’s going to need a significant ramp-up,” Donovan said. “He may be able to physically go out there and play, but I think they’ll monitor where he’s at with his conditioning.”
Street clothes
Center Nikola Vucevic, guard/forward Kevin Huerter and guard Julian Phillips were held out Thursday. For Vucevic, it was a scheduled rest day, but Huerter was dealing with a minor groin tweak and Phillips had a sore knee. Donovan expects them back Sunday against the Bucks.