Tre Jones doesn’t have “closer” officially in his job title, but he’s fast-tracking in that direction.
In the comeback victory Friday over the 76ers, he entered with 3:14 left and the Bulls down a point.
Jones scored on a reverse layup, grabbed an offensive rebound on a step-back jumper by Coby White, then made a layup on that same possession he helped keep alive. After his free throw with 17.2 seconds left, Jones had scored five points, been in the perfect spot to make plays and helped deliver a seven-point victory.
If it looks like a closer, smells like a closer, well . . .
“I love having him out there, but there could be situations where we’re playing against a really big team,” coach Billy Donovan said Saturday. “I thought that happened in the first Atlanta game [on Dec. 21]. There may be sometimes against bigger teams where he’s not closing the game, but he’s done a really good job for us closing.”
Jones makes up for his lack of size in some matchups with his IQ. There’s a reason why Donovan pushed for Jones to get an extension this summer. Donovan reiterated before the game against the Bucks on Saturday that Jones is an extension of him on the court.
“He’s just got a unique ability to [make winning plays],” Donovan said. “I can’t put my finger on it. I do think there’s things that players bring to the table that you want to bring out and foster.
‘‘For him, it’s trying to give him the freedom to make plays. One, he’s always been a low-turnover guy, so he makes good decisions with the basketball. He takes the right shots. He’s an uncanny finisher in the lane when he gets there, but he just has this instinct of being able to tell what’s going to happen.
“He just reacts, he’s in the moment and he’s present. He knows when plays are big and what he’s got to do.”
Zach attack
If it feels like Josh Giddey and Zach Collins are becoming a strong on-court pairing the last few weeks, it’s not an illusion.
“Zach is a different big guy than [Nikola Vucevic], and Vooch is a different big man than Jalen Smith,” Donovan said. “I think the way Vooch plays — he’s based on reading. Like, where is his man? He’s got a great IQ and feel for the game. ‘Do I pick, do I pop, do I roll?’ Where Zach is straight-up screen and a rim-diver. Over time, you develop those connections with the big men, but it comes down to both guys really having to work together. It’s not all Josh; it’s not all Zach.”
Schedule crunch
Starting with the 109-102 victory Friday against the 76ers, the Bulls have five games in the next week.
That’s why Donovan reminded Dalen Terry, Julian Phillips and Jevon Carter to stay ready.
All three have lost playing time with the Bulls leaning more on the two-big lineup recently.
“Last time we kind of got into [a heavy part of the schedule] was when we went out west, got back and started to lose some players,’’ Donovan said.
‘‘You never want to see guys go down, but with the density of games, a lot can happen. So these guys have got to keep themselves available.”