Some speculated the New Orleans Pelicans would move on from Herb Jones at the trade deadline, however, those speculations undersold the value Herb Jones carries for his team. This season, Jones has cemented himself as one of the best defenders in the league while building on his offensive repertoire. New Orleans would have been foolish to ship him off.
Jones is the anchor of the Pelicans’ top 10 defense (112.9 defensive rating), playing every role conforming to the lineup on the floor. On some nights, Jones will defend the back line as a big. On others, he will defend the primary matchup. He’s elite at all of those roles, always playing with elite motor.
Few defenders in the NBA can erase a team’s primary offensive engine like Herb Jones does. Along with elite lateral quickness, size and technique, Jones’ strength and elasticity lets him bounce around and cover all sorts of players. For example, he’s shown to be one of the better defenders in the league against MVP frontrunner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Per NBA matchup data, Jones matched up with Gilgeous-Alexander for just under 10 minutes across their two matchups this season, holding him to just 12 shot attempts at 33% from the floor. Almost no players are fast, strong and intelligent enough to handle Shai’s drives but Herb is one of those rare stoppers/
He’s held some of his other most common matchups this year — De’Aaron Fox, Paul George, Lauri Markkanen, etc — to inefficient shooting performances. The on-ball dominance comes alongside his rim protection; Jones’ 2.9% block rate is the third-highest of any starter under 6’7. His rim defending lets the rest of his teammates defend aggressively.
And more than ever before, the Pelicans have committed to unlocking Jones on offense. He’s progressed as a shotmaker, handler and playmaker, widening his range of offensive options. Jones’ efficiency skyrocketed this season, climbing to a strong 62.3% true shooting (+4 relative to league average) figure. He’s knocking down 40.8% of his triples this season, his volume and efficiency from deep climbing from last year.
His shooting opens up the rest of Jones’ game, his slashing and finishing becoming a genuine threat. New Orleans creatively involves Jones in their offensive game plan, experimenting with Jones as a roller to good results. Adding to his interior scoring, Jones processes the game smoothly, connecting the Pelicans’ main scoring threats together with his passing.
There’s an argument to be made for Herb Jones as the Pelicans’ most important player. He won’t ever be their primary shot creator or playmaker but his offensive progress is significant. Few wings in the modern NBA are the keystones of their teams’ defensive schemes like Jones is while providing the offensive juice he does. The Pelicans couldn’t let that go.
Analysis by Ben Pfeifer
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