A starter in 65 of his 68 games last season, Spurs guard Tre Jones has come off the bench for the first two contests of 2023-24. He was one of the team’s most productive players on Wednesday against Dallas, piling up 16 points, six assists and five rebounds in 25 minutes, but he sat in crunch time as Gregg Popovich turned to Jeremy Sochan with the scored tied at 118 and just over two minutes remaining. The Spurs ultimately lost the game.
“I just want to do everything I can to help my team win,” Jones said, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). “Obviously, being on the floor I feel like I can help my team win, but we had to do different lineups and whatnot to match up with them on the defensive end.
“They just hit some tough shots at the end, very tough shots. That’s just how it goes sometimes. Got to stay ready. There will always be different lineups down the stretch. We don’t know who is going to be in there. We are all ready and we all believe in one another.”
Jones’ readiness paid off on Friday as he got the nod late in the fourth quarter and in overtime over Sochan and helped deliver the first victory of San Antonio’s season. Although he scored only six points, the point guard dished out eight assists and was a team-high plus-14 in his 33 minutes.
While Jones played at the point in Friday’s crunch-time minutes, the Spurs want Sochan to continue getting comfortable at the position, as Popovich said after the opener on Wednesday.
“We’re just trying to educate him and it is a new position for him,” Popovich said, according to Orsborn. “He’s learning something. Every practice, every game he’s going to learn. But I love his energy, his defensive energy. He’s learning how to control a group out there, so it’ll take a little bit of time for him and (his teammates) to jell together, but I was really pleased with him overall.”
Sochan did check back into Friday’s game with 21 seconds left in overtime and hit two big free throws to help seal the victory.
Here’s more on the Spurs:
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!