Hes also been a knockdown shooter too this year. Hes only 25 aswell, 2-3 years until his athletic prime is hitting which will only make the plays he makes more common
As a Pels fan, I’m so happy with the team we have now. The crazy thing is, Dyson hasn’t played in a while and we are this good defensively. When he comes back, Herb and Dyson will be a terror in the playoffs. To answer the question, yes Herb is definitely the best non big defender in the league. I may be bias, but he should be in DPOY talks. Not winning it obviously, just talking about his defense. Definitely should be all defense first team this year. Rudy G, definitely is winning it, but having Herb in that discussion already is a treat.
No question he is. There are some great other non-big defenders in Caruso, White, Holiday and Mcdaniels but I think Herb is just a step above this season
@@Grind2Excellence I would say that for players who solely guard the perimeter. They’ve had Herb on the opposing big man plenty. They’re all mainly perimeter defenders tho
Nola native here.. thank u for showing love to herb jones and acknowledging his amazing defense. He’s an absolute monster on defense and going to home games and watching his play intense defense each game is electrifying. He’s due for all defensive 1st team !!
I’m so glad he’s actually getting recognition outside of pelicans fans now. it was so hard for the past 2 years trying to vouch for him when most casuals didn’t even know he was. 💯
Really impressive analysis! Herb is and has been an elite defender for quite some time now. I think I'd struggle to score more than 20 points on him in a game.
The pelicans overall are such an underrated team this season, I wouldn’t be surprised if they go on a run in the playoffs. They are probably the most deep team in the league
Consider that the Pelicans are an elite defensive team while having 4 starters who are considered average to below average defenders. That really sums up how much impact Herb Jones has on the game defensively.
@@gabrielcarrasco9078 Yes,Wemby is huge.But rarely these impact from a non center,and the pels fight for the homecourt advantage and 4th in defensive rating.wemby will won multiple times definitely!
He a reversed Kawhi. They both defend with their non dominant hand because it’s easier for them that way. Kawhi is a right-left jumper from two feet and Herb is left right jumper. It’s easier to defend with the opposite hand. Oubre for example is another left right jumper but he defends very well with his left hand which is an amazing skill the way he sets his legs.
And that’s why the Pelicans are freaking scary. Zion and Ingram (could be injured, hope he isn’t) are offensive beasts but the rest of the team play their role.
First video I have ever seen of this players, and that is crazy he is this impactful. He looks as impactful on defense as Zion is on offense. And with this team, as far as coverage goes, its Zion/Ingram/Mccollum with each dropping off suggnificantly as far as coverage goes.... This player (jones) needs more coverage... They are clearly a totally different team when he is off or on the court.
I feel like I’m watching a wing Irving Garnett right when I watch herb jones, flawless rotation, elite hips, elite hands, elite basketball brain. All around defensive stud.
If the saying "defense, not offense, actually wins games" is an undeniable fact in basketball, then Herb Jones' archetype isn't dying anytime soon imo. Especially in close games and your team really needs a stop to score a win.
to tie this to your nuggets-celtic video, I would say that if there's one team in the west able to hold it down, I would say the Pels rn. The nightmare of the Nuggets is that Joker naturally lures rim protecters, or at least the primary athletic force, out the post, while Gordon is too dynamic and athletic for those same bigs and meanwhile you need to keep size and mobility for the rest of the team which is kinda big: basically you need lanky and dynamic guys all around. NO has in my opinion the deepest 3&D wings roster of the league with Herb, Trey and Daniels; and with Zion, Ingram and Valanciunas on hand, no size is lost. A team with a similar profile in the east would be orlando but they might need another year, maybs two.
the pelicans are dangerous. zion, BI, CJ, casuals know these names. they got val who lead the lead in 3pt % 2 years ago, herb, jose, trey, dyson, naji, larry, hawkins, i mean, those are some legit players and it’s like 11 players deep
I can attest that having the Defensive Instincts and applying them can be extremely valuable. However somehow this is a generational type of skill if you may.
He's the best 1-5 defender in the league. People don't even mention his offensive growth (especially from 3) which is nearly as impressive as his clamps
@@donellramon783 I saw Holiday guard Kat a 6”3 in the post . You might be right because of the overall size but man it’s close . Herb can’t guard any big man that really matters. He lockdowns smaller players .
@@donellramon783 herb is more versatile these days for sure but jrues defensive IQ is unmatched Herb is still young and shows such insane high IQ on the floor is gonna be scary for the league I think its close between Herb and Jrue especially cuz herb has the length advantage but I think its still Jrue just cuz of the IQ and his Build hes so strong he can bang down low with a lot of big men and hold his ground
He's probably one of them, depends on your definition of non-big, because he does play about 50% of his minute at the 4, and if we're qualifying 4s, I'd say Jonathan Isaac has a case of being better. Issac's more disruptive, his on/off number on opponent offensive rating is out of this world on a better defensive team than Jones. People shoot like 38% when he is the closest defender. The knock would be that he play bench minutes, but when he is in the game, it's hard to argue that he's not as good if not better than Jones just due to his sheer production defensively
