The return of Tyus Stones
He went away for a bit. But he came back Monday with a vengeance.
Being a fan of the Memphis Grizzlies has always been, to an extent, tribal. This is partly because of the reality of a small market team whose existence has been called in to question time and again throughout their history - this is OUR team. OUR players. And you don’t appreciate them the way that WE do.
It was true of Darrell Arthur, and Tony Allen. Before them it was Brian Cardinal and James Posey. It’s not a surprise - it is a way of taking in the product that is Memphis Grizzlies basketball. They’re not just athletes. They’re part of the Memphis family. Territorialism is part of this territory…even when a player is underperforming.
If any Memphis player rocking the Beale Street Blue struggles living up to expectations, oftentimes a strong contingent stands tall against criticism. Being “too hard” on them, or not properly understanding or explaining context, is a common refrain. It’s understandable to a degree - all issues or struggles have not necessarily excuses, but reasons for why they exist. This is true of Grizzlies back-up point guard Tyus Jones, as it is of all of us.
But not all of us are making $15 million and claiming that we see ourselves as a starter in the NBA.
The Memphis Grizzlies use the “next man up” mantra to describe the basis not just for their (successful) development system, but the idea that if one piece of the rotation slides out of position the one behind them will fill the void. Nowhere is this more clear than with Tyus’ role as the back-up to Ja Morant. Jones likely could have gone to another team with a better chance to be a starter this past summer, and yet he chose to be in Memphis as a player that supported Morant both when he was out and when he was on the floor. It was on Tyus to keep his elite assist to turnover ratio in check to protect offensive possessions and help lead the second unit as a facilitator and creator.
And when Ja was out, it was on Tyus to be that “next man up” and create for himself as well.
That was most certainly on display Monday night against the Miami Heat, as Tyus “Stones” was arguably the best player on the floor in a game that Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry, and Tyler Herro started. Jones posted 28 points on 16 shots while dishing out 10 assists to only 1 turnover. It was, quite possibly, the best performance of Tyus’ career - much less of the season. And he did it with Santi Aldama, Steven Adams, Dillon Brooks, and David Roddy starting alongside him.
That last name - Roddy - is significant. Because oftentimes he is used as a reason to explain how, until the Heat game, Tyus had underperformed his numbers from his contract season last year almost across the board.
People are right to point out that Tyus has never been a primary scorer - there’s truth to this. The last time he posted a usage rate over 20%, like he currently boasts, he was in the 23rd percentile in points per shot attempt according to Cleaning the Glass. He is much better when able to play off of others and let the offensive flow come to him when it comes to getting his own shots. But performances like the Heat game remind us that Tyus is capable of being this kind of player in spurts, especially when he is aggressive.
The highlights against Miami showcase this mindset. It’s Jones drawing contact and then retracing back to beyond the arc. It’s Tyus seeing skip passes and lobs off of pick and rolls that become more successful once he establishes his own willingness to take his defender off the dribble and drive to the basket. Jones being his “Stones” self on a consistent basis with Morant out helps keep the Grizzlies afloat when Ja isn’t there.
Memphis just needs this engaged Tyus when Morant is indeed in the rotation.
The “next man up” mindset isn’t just one player replacing the starter in front of him. Throughout this season to this point, the Grizzlies needed Tyus to be the guy that he was against Miami, while playing with similar players off the bench. Jones wasn’t able to get that job done consistently. With Desmond Bane and Ziaire Williams out, Tyus needed to find his own footing as a scorer while also getting the offensive flow going for others. He wasn’t alone in bench struggles - Brandon Clarke is another player who until recently hasn’t hit his stride. But Jones re-signed in Memphis to a contract befitting a starter.
He hasn’t looked that way enough to this point…that is, until the Miami game.
Jones is vital to the Memphis Grizzlies, not just because he is Ja Morant insurance. He must, if the team hopes to be a title contender, produce on a consistent basis off the bench as he does throughout his career. That doesn’t mean he has to have career night after career night. It does mean that what he did in terms of HOW he attacked the game, the rhythm he got in to for himself and for his teammates, must be more present on a game-to-game basis.
Settling for shots outside the lane (shooting a career-best 71% at the rim while taking a career-worst 8% of his attempts at the rim is unsustainable) limits the ceiling of the reserves. Not finishing passes (a current career-worst assist to turnover ratio of 1.21 to 1 suggests more mistakes than we are used to from Tyus, not just teammate misses) will not help the Grizzlies as the schedule gets tougher. That Tyus Jones doesn’t make Memphis a championship contender. The re-emergence of Tyus “Stones” that took the Heat to the woodshed does.
Here’s to hoping that dude sticks around.