Despite being a second-round draft choice in 2021, Herbert Jones continues to make the kind of impact you’d more reasonably expect from a lottery pick – or perhaps a savvy, 10-year NBA veteran. As New Orleans first-year head coach Willie Green described after Friday’s 113-105 win in Denver, the University of Alabama product doesn’t play like he’s only been a pro since July, when he was chosen No. 35 overall by the Pelicans.
“Even though he’s a rookie, he seems like he’s been in the league five or six years, the way he processes the game,” Green said, after Jones piled up 18 fourth-quarter points to help beat the Nuggets.
Many talented young players make steady and evident improvements during their initial handful of years in the NBA, but the 23-year-old seemingly has packed a half-decade of progress into about two months. His rapid development was again on full display Friday during an eye-opening fourth period at Ball Arena, where Jones’ 18 points came on 6/6 shooting from the field and 4/4 foul shooting. Since permanently becoming a New Orleans starter Nov. 24, he’s managed to make gigantic leaps in multiple aspects of his game. If there were an award for Most Improved (In-Season) Player, Jones might be the frontunner.
“Herb is a guy that just continues to get better,” Green said. “He puts the work in in practice. He’s a willing learner. We’re just seeing all of his hard work on display.
“Herb is one of the first guys at the gym every day, and he’s one of the last to leave every day. That’s just who he is. Working with (assistant coach) Fred (Vinson), you guys see it every day after practice. He’s a student of the game and is getting better. He was amazing tonight.”
Indeed, Jones’ 18-point period and 25-game point at Denver featured Eurostep layups, daring transition plays, a pair of three-pointers and clutch free throws. He’s already earned plenty of praise and rave reviews for his #NotOnHerb defensive performance, but since becoming a full-time starter, he’s gotten better in every offensive category.
Jones’ career high in scoring over a four-year college career with the Crimson Tide was 21 points, but he’s already posted 26- and 25-point games for the Pelicans since late December. He was a 29 percent career three-point shooter at Alabama, but is up to 37 percent as an NBA rookie, making exactly the same treys in 49 appearances this season (34) as he did in his 129 NCAA games. He is 34/92 from the deeper NBA three-point stripe, compared to 34/118 in school.
Perhaps even more rare for a young player, his free throw percentage has spiked from a below-average 60.4 career rate in college to a near-elite 83.7 for New Orleans, after sinking four vital foul shots down the stretch at Denver. He’s shooting 78.9 percent on free throws (15 of 19) in clutch time this season.
“I’m pretty comfortable,” Jones said on postgame radio of his strides at the charity stripe. “I just credit it to the amount of work I’ve put in. It feels like I’m almost in the practice gym when I get up to the line in a game.”
In his first 20 regular season games, Jones made a total of five three-pointers, but there he was Friday, connecting twice from the arc in key spots of the fourth quarter, punishing the Nuggets for leaving him with enough room to fire. He shot 3/4 on threes Friday and is now 29/75 (39 percent) since Dec. 1.
“The place I’m growing the most is just having confidence taking open shots and giving the team the best shot in a possession, instead of turning down open shots and driving into a clogged-up lane,” Jones said. “That’s been the biggest progression for me.”
“He’s getting more comfortable as the season progresses,” Green said. “He’s doing exactly what our staff and our organization want all of our guys to do – to continue to improve throughout the course of the season. He had a big-time scoring night tonight, but every game you just trust him on the floor. He’s going to make the right plays defensively, offensively. Herb is just a big-time player.”
“Herb is just a great player,” said new Pelicans starting power forward Jaxson Hayes, who’s made immense strides of his own in recent weeks. “He’s showing more and more of his game as you get to watch him. I mean, (Jones’ 18-point fourth quarter) was awesome. I love watching Herb play. Just one of my favorite people to watch play basketball. Great defense, smart player, gritty player. Just watching him be able to take over like that is awesome.”