SB Nation - Solomon Jones

Hawks Season in Review - Mike Scott

Evildallas — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:02:07 -0000

Expectations

Keith Benson, Pape Sy, and Sergiy Gladyr were the 3 previous 2nd round picks for a total of 6 NBA games. That sets the bar pretty low for a 2nd round pick like Mike Scott. The last 2nd rounder to get significant playing time was Solomon Jones in 2006-2007 on a team that won 30 games. Just sticking on the roster would be a step in the right direction for Mike Scott. Any minutes he would get under Larry Drew would seem like a bonus.

Results

Mike Scott average 9.4 mpg and appeared in 40 games, which was pretty good considered he was behind Josh Smith, Al Horford, Ivan Johnson, and Anthony Tolliver on the depth chart and Larry Drew’s hesitancy to trust rookies. The number that stands out to me is the per 36 minute free throw attempts of 5.4, which was highest on the team. It’s probably a little inflated due to the lack of minutes but it still stands out on a team that is often content to launch jumpers. His rebound total didn’t stand out, but if Mike can maintain his rebounding rate with more court time it could be similar to Zaza’s numbers (which is a good thing)

Highlight

Two games stand out for Mike Scott. They were a week apart at the end of March and start of April. In a lackluster visit to Boston in which Jeff Green scored 27 and Shavlik Randolph got 13 boards, Mike Scott closed out the game with 19 points including 8 visits to the free throw line being one of the only bright spots for the Hawks. Strangely or predictably if you've followed Larry Drew's coaching career, he only logged a couple garbage minutes in the next two games. Then the memorable visit to San Antonio in which Al, Josh and Kyle were given the night off. Mike Scott didn’t start, but he logged 36 minutes tallying 22 points, 6 boards, and 2 assists. The Hawks only lost by 2 points behind a warrior effort of the Hawks subs. It was a fun change of pace from the games that the Hawks didn’t bring a effort to this spring.

Prognosis

I expect Mike Scott to be back with the Hawks. He’s inexpensive and showed strong play in limited minutes. His role on the team will like depend on the system that the new coach implements as well as other personnel decisions, but you could say that about almost every player.

The Knicks signed Quentin Richardson?

Seth — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:41:12 -0000

So, there was a vacant roster spot, you see, because the Knicks cut Kurt Thomas, then signed Solomon Jones, then cut him, too. We figured there might be another move before the end of the regular season. Here is that move:

Welcome back, Q. Knicks announce they have signed Quentin Richardson.
— Howard Beck (@HowardBeckNYT) April 16, 2013

Some questions and thoughts:

1. Huh

2. What

3. Like Quentin Richardson Quentin Richardson?

4. Quentin Richardson was waived by the Magic in October. Is he actually ready to play basketball?

4 Headbands

6. Did somebody watch old tapes of Richardson exchanging snarls and shoves with Paul Pierce and decide "oh yeah, we totally want to piss Paul Pierce off during the postseason"? If so:

7. Why

It's weird and near the bottom of the list of moves I expected (somewhere in between "Scoonie Penn" and "Shania Twain"), but whatever. Kenyon Martin and Rasheed Wallace and Chris Copeland are fairly important contributors on this team. I don't question things anymore. I just wait and see how they work out.

Quentin Richardson, though?

Update: Since people are asking: Yes, Richardson is playoff eligible because he wasn't waived by an NBA team after March 1st. The Knicks are really weird, but not quite weird enough to sign Quentin Richardson for one regular season game.

Game Thread: Knicks at Bobcats- 4/15/13

Seth — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 21:47:37 -0000

Evening, friends. First of all: We heard from bluecheese, but those of you in Boston (and I know there are a few), I hope to the bottom of my stomach you and yours are all safe and at home. Please check in.

There is a Knicks game tonight. It doesn't matter in the context of the world, and it doesn't even matter in the context of the NBA season. Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith will not participate tonight and Tyson Chandler, Kenyon Martin, and Amar'e Stoudemire will remain out as well. Solomon Jones won't play because he just got cut. Tonight's starting lineup will be Pablo Prigioni, Iman Shumpert, James White, Steve Novak, and Chris Copeland. Like we saw before, Rasheed Wallace (and even Marcus Camby, who was just activated, but perhaps only to reach some mandatory limit) will get to spin for a few minutes. He pretty much has to with all the people out. Raymond Felton might play a bit even though he's not starting.

If you wish to comment on the game tonight, here's your thread. Rufus on Fire is here. Please don't post large photos, .gifs, or links to illegal streams in the thread. Everyone stay healthy, please.

New York Knicks Tickets

Knicks 90, Pacers 80: Second seed!

Seth — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 03:13:32 -0000

There it is! The second seed is locked up and the meaningful part of the regular season has ended. I am very tired and will leave much of the stuff (Holy shit, I initially typed "stough". I am VERY tired.) floating out there until tomorrow, but first: Many thanks to everyone who came to the meet-up today. We had a great game to watch. To begin with, Steve Novak hit a couple threes, which caused the whole bar-- regular ol' disinterested patrons included-- to erupt at the prospect of $3 drinks. Every single possession he was on the floor was incredibly tense and exciting.

Besides Novak's drink-winning success, this was a very solid, encouraging performance for the shorthanded Knicks. We did and still do have reason to fear Indiana in the playoffs, should that match-up ever emerge, but the Knicks prodded at some weakness today and perhaps gained some intelligence in the process. For once, New York's constant switching and doubling looked pretty awesome. They had nobody nearly big enough to guard Roy Hibbert (Solomon Jones included. Good lord, is that man unfit to play NBA basketball right now), so they fronted him, then sent a parade of guards to help and tickle him and hassle him into precarious passes. Hibbert wasn't alone in faltering under pressure from swarms of guards (and/or Carmelo Anthony). The Knicks jarred so many balls loose and smothered so, so many passing lanes. The box score shows TWENTY SIX Indiana turnovers feeding 33 New York points. They didn't score so much on the fast break, but they found good looks in the secondary break and just generally took so many more shots than the Pacers did (82 to 65 FGA). Nobody really shone offensively, with the exception of Chris Copeland, who hit his open shot and showed off that knack he has for resurrecting broken plays with a quick pick-and-pop or spot-up from anywhere on the floor. That's a major weapon for the second unit.

SPEAKING OF WEAPON, Mr. Novak set a pick and actually rolled to the basket for what momentarily seemed like it was going to be a dunk attempt. On instinct, my pants fell down and my teeth sprayed out of my mouth like bullets, but it ended up just being a missed layup. STILL. Big moment. (Other great moments I remember: 1. Pablo Prigioni making consecutive backcourt sneak-steals, the first of which set up a Melo three. 2. Melo getting pushed around in the post, then finally snatching an offensive rebound and tomahawking with a VENGEANCE. 3. Melo striding to the scorer's table when the lead was narrowing in the fourth despite still having some pain in his shoulder, then happily retreating to the bench once the Knicks forced a couple consecutive turnovers and steadied themselves. 4. That Solomon airball. Woof.)

That's all I can really think of. It's hard for me to remember the events of a game after having watched amidst so many friendly P&Ters. Also standing up. I can't stand up and process information at the same time. But yeah, in short: The Knicks forced tons of turnovers. They didn't produce so much offense against Indiana's top-notch D, but they did limit the Pacers to, like, never shooting the ball on the other end, and that was good.

And now the second seed and a first-round match-up with the Celtics is locked in. And while some guys have earned a week of rest, others may be ready to return. We'll talk about all that tomorrow and for the rest of this week. Good night!

Game Thread: Knicks vs. Pacers- 4/14/13

Seth — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 18:33:24 -0000

Hello! The Knicks play the Pacers in New York this afternoon. If they win, they'll clinch the second seed and secure a first-round match-up with the Celtics. If they lose, they'll probably do that later. Here's a new starting lineup:

Starters for this afternoon versus Indiana: Felton, Prigioni, Shumpert, Anthony, Jones Chandler and Martin will not dress.
— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) April 14, 2013

Starting center Solomon Jones, y'all. Ready to exact revenge on his former team...? I don't know. I hope the Knicks win. I hope nobody gets hurt.

I'm headed down to Full Circle soon for the meet-up (I'm actually at Osborn's place right now) and hope to see a lot of you there. Tip-off's at 3:30, and it appears the game is on MSG and MSG alone. If you won't be joining us, here's your thread and here's Indy Cornrows. Please don't post large photos, .gifs, or links to illegal streams in the thread. Go the Knicks!

Knicks 101, Cavaliers 91: "One in a row!"

Seth — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 04:10:31 -0000

Hooray! New streak! JetsFan718 called it. The Knicks showed no ill effects following their rough loss to the Bulls and twilight arrival in Cleveland. They handled the SEGABABA with aplomb, building the lead in each of the first three quarters, then holding on down the stretch while the big guns rested their big gun-legs. There wasn't much to it. The Knicks let Kyrie Irving go off a bit (though not very efficiently), and kept the rest of the Cavaliers from doing anything unusual. For the Knicks' own cause, Carmelo Anthony put in three workmanlike quarters and J.R. Smith went on a ludicrous scoring spree. That did it.

The win and Indiana loss set the Knicks' magic number for the second seed at one: The next Knick win or Pacer loss locks New York into their seed. The Knicks could make it extra clean by beating the Pacers themselves on Sunday, but they're in great shape either way. All that's really left is for the seeds below to align, hopefully in a way that provides the Knicks a straight, unobstructed path to that gold ball.

Just a few individuals worth mentioning:

- Melo did plenty of scoring off the dribble and off the catch, open, guarded, double-teamed, and triple-teamed. Nothing new, nothing particularly outrageous this time around. His most impressive contributions on this night were more bruiserly in nature. Tristan Thompson got his points and rebounds, but I thought Melo did a solid job denying him the ball, haranguing him when he made his move (Thompson had five turnovers), and boxing him out. Melo also ripped down seven offensive rebounds (14 total), though a lot of them weren't so much ripped down as tipped in, occasionally through contact. The Knicks played mostly without a big man, so Melo acted like a big man and did a fine job of it.

- J.R. actually had a pretty weak first quarter, which only magnifies how ridiculous the latter three were. He took a few semi-lame jumpers in the first, hitting only one of them. After that, J.R. simply stopped missing shots. He opened the second by drilling a left-elbow step-back, then proceeded to trample Wayne Ellington and Omri Casspi throughout the second quarters, getting to the rim for finishes and drawn fouls all the while. By the fourth, he'd achieved unconscious, immortal white heat, drilling a few jumpers off the catch, finishing an acrobatic and-one layup that made Clyde croon "Go ahead, J.R., work that body!", then burying an eleventh and twelfth straight shot before hitting the bench, presumably to be doused with pails of water. 31 points on 16 shots for our friend Earl. He could not be stopped.

- I said "mostly without a big man" because Solomon Jones-- SOLOMOJO-- made his Knick debut. The gawky 6'10" gentleman spun for 12 minutes and looked...well, like a guy who'd played most recently in China and had joined the team that same day, managing only to sign a contract and pick a jersey number (54) before tip-off. Jones looked pretty ragged on defense-- Thompson noticed this and plunged on him off the dribble-- and he hardly touched the ball on offense. It's nothing to fret over-- the dude's clearly not quite in shape and just looked addled from what was probably one of the crazier days of his career-- and, to Jones's credit, he set screens and navigated the floor nicely to create space for his new friends.

- Iman Shumpert resurrected what was otherwise a rough offensive outing (missed open jumpers, aimless dribbling, empty drives to the basket) with a couple late finishes in transition and a grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds.

- Jason Kidd and Pablo Prigioni both played perfectly adequate (if largely meaningless) defense on Irving and ran some splendid pick-and-rolls. My favorite from each guy: Kidd ran a straight-on pick-and-roll with Copeland, drew a hedging big man, faked a fake a kick-out pass, then rifled an entry into the rolling Cope for a finish. And yeah, I meant to say "faked a fake". He just kinda looked off the kick-out to freeze the hedger, then thread the needle into Cope. Earlier, Pablo dribbled all the way to the left baseline, then turned about face to receive a down-screen from Melo that absolutely befuddled the Cavs and freed Melo for an easy catch-and-make 18-footer.

- A couple Clyde lines from a conversation about meeting/balling with little kids as part of the Knicks' charity telethon: 1. "I'm undefeated in the ten- and eleven-year-old age group. I post and toast them." 2. "Sometimes I meet the kids and they're hyperventilating. They're hyperventilating, they're so excited."

- And one great Spero Dedes line after Kidd splashed a hiiiiigh-arcing, buzzer-beating jumper off a J.R. kick-out: "That one came down with moisture on it, it was so high."

- We saw a little match-up zone in the fourth. It went okay. Just worth noting that that's still a thing, since the Knicks once used it heavily in a game against the Celtics and are on pace to play Boston in the first round.

- Raymond Felton looked ever so slightly wobbly on the sprained knee, but not tentative or beleaguered. He only had to play 24 minutes.

And that's the best takeaway: Felton and Melo didn't have to play the fourth quarter and nobody new got hurt. Excellent night. Pacers on Sunday! Have a good night.

Woj: The Knicks will sign Solomon Jones

Seth — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:27:55 -0000

The news for a few days had been that the Knicks were going to cut Kurt Thomas-- whose foot injury requires surgery-- to sign forward James Singleton. That deal has apparently fallen through, and the Knicks are going elsewhere. Instead of Singleton, they'll sign Solomon Jones, according to Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski.

You may remember Jones-- they call him "Solo", I call him "Lomon"-- as the third-string big man from the Hawks, or perhaps the Pacers. Or some very brief NBA stops since. Or perhaps China. At a full 6'10", Jones is a bigger dude than Singleton, and he's more of a shot-blocker, if not a better overall floor defender (or rebounder). At 28, he's pretty much a baby relative to the rest of the Knicks. Of course, this is all assuming we're not talking about this guy.

I was pretty excited about Singleton's defense, rebounding, and ability to shoot, so this is kinda disappointing. It's odd, given that Singleton was in Chicago with the team last night, that his signing fell through. Jones is bigger, but not nearly as versatile or intriguing as a sneaky awesome signing (to me, anyway).

Nothing is official yet, so we'll have to wait and see. For now, there's just speculation that Singleton may not have been able to negotiate his way out of China or that the Knicks are still pursuing him and intend to cut a second player. Again, both of those things are just speculation. Speculation. This is speculation. It's all speculative. These people might not exist. You and I might not exist.

Update: 1. This is happening, and Jones may be in uniform as soon as tonight. He might very well start at center.. 2. Singleton is reportedly not happening because of some issues bailing him out of China. Buns.

NBA Regular Season: Phoenix Suns (3-3) at Utah Jazz (2-4) -- Game Preview

AllThatAmar — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 23:25:06 -0000

NBA Regular Season 2012-2013, Game 7:

Phoenix Suns (3-3) @ Utah Jazz (2-4)

The Basics:

The Suns and Jazz both fought hard down the stretch to secure that final Western Conference playoff spot last year. It came down to our last meeting of the year, our second last game of the regular season. And, well, we won; and moved on. Both of our squads look a lot different this year.

They drafted Kendall Marshall, picked up Luis Scola as an amnesty claim, traded for Wesley Johnson, and signed Michael Beasley, Shannon Brown, Solomon Jones, Jermaine O'Neal, and P.J. Tucker. They said goodbye to Aaron Brooks, Josh Childress, Grant Hill, Ronnie Price, Robin Lopez, Hakim Warrick, Josh Chilldress, and this Steve Nash dude. They cleaned house and their moves make ours look cosmetic (and here we were thinking that we made big changes!) -- it's going to be a crazy game as they play our style of ball now. Dump it inside, crash the glass, and kick it out to short, limited guards, who love to shoot threes.

History:

The Jazz and Suns played three times last season, with Phoenix winning the series 2-1.

The last game was the key game, and kind of made up for our inability to defend the pick and roll in that (almost) crucial Game 2.

The Game:

Both teams played last night. The Suns played at home, in Phoenix, and beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 107-105; while the Jazz were on the road, and dropped a game to the Denver Nuggets 84-104. It was not pretty for us. But a number of our guys got some chance to rest. For the Suns Marcin Gortat played 36:47, while Goran Dragic played 34:26. The Suns played only 9 dudes, and everyone else played between 22-26 minutes. Nearly opposite to that, Tyrone Corbin should not have to worry about guys who are tired. The dude who played the most minutes for us last game was Randy Foye, with 28:59. (Yes, he took one shot per minute) (Okay, that's not fair. He paced himself)

So if one of these teams is more well rested it may not be "the team that touched down in SLC first", which is what the Suns did. The Jazz guys got to sleep in their own beds, and it's pretty clear that none of them should be tired for tonight.

There are a number of guys missing from both teams -- but I'll go into this into more detail in the injury update. But for now, we're without Raja Bell, Earl Watson, and Mo Williams. We are, how do you say, even more top heavy now at the big spots and even more anemic on ball handlers. On the opposite side of the spectrum are the Suns, who will be without bigman Channing Frye this entire season. Jermaine O'Neal also missed friday's game, but I don't know if he's available or not. The Suns also were without Kendall Marshall -- but I'll keep an eye on the guard.

Looking at the records these are two evenly matched teams, but I don't really believe that. Phoenix has more wins than us, but look at who they won against: the Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Bobcats, and Cleveland Cavaliers. It's not like they've had to play the Los Angeles Lakers (a game we won, by the way), or the San Antonio Spurs on their way to a 3-3 record. They were demolished by the Miami Heat, but by the same token, they were also demolished by the Orlando Magic.

The Suns score a lot, 99.0 ppg (#8 in PPG), but give up a lot more 105.0 ppg (#29th in Opponents PPG). There's nothing like playing a team with a -6.0 point differential to set things straight. What else do we know about them? They take a lot of threes and free throws. They are #1 in blocks (somehow!), but surprisingly strong on the glass. This isn't the same Suns team from the end of last season. But they are still a bad team.

We've played like a bad team though. So . . . this is still going to be a game I stress out about.

Word from the Badguys:

Uh . . .

I . . . I don't know many Suns fans . . .

X-Factors:

It's going to come down to second chance points. The Jazz are #5 in offensive rebounds, and the Suns are #2. And so far this season here's the list of players on both teams who have at least 10 offensive rebounds so far: Paul Millsap (22), Marcin Gortat (22), Al Jefferson (16), Derrick Favors (16), Luis Scola (15), Michael Beasley (14), Markieff Morris (10), P.J. Tucker (10). Not on that list is Enes Kanter -- but you know what he does on the glass.

For the season the Jazz are shooting 43.1 fg%, the Suns at 43.2 fg%. So yeah. Offensive rebounds tonight. Check that out.

As an aside:

The Jazz Media Guide fails to mention Jeff Hornacek 's connection to the Phoenix Suns; but instead lists the ones for Tyrone Corbin, Mike Sanders, and that Marvin Williams and Kendall Marshall went to the same college. D-E-R-P. (Page 2 here.)

Fearless Prediction:

Jazz win. Why? Well, we can't lose EVERY game, right? More reasonably, I think these are two teams that will match up well this year; and I think our guys will be motivated. They have pride. They don't like to get their butts kicked.

Suns exercise 2013-2014 option on Markieff Morris

Avinash Kunnath — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 02:11:04 -0000

The Phoenix Suns exercised the 2013-14 contract option for power forward Markieff Morris, which will ensure the Suns should keep their big man for the next two years. With the Suns waiving forward Ike Diogu and forward-center Solomon Jones, keeping Morris became all the more imperative.

The twin of Marcus Morris, Markieff was drafted 13th overall in the 2011 NBA Draft. Out of the University of Kansas, Morris averaged 7.4 points and 4.4 rebounds in his rookie year with the Suns, managing to score in double figures 22 times. Morris figures to be the backup to Luis Scola this season.

For those unaware of the NBA rookie contract structure, the initial NBA rookie contract lasts two years. But after that, teams like the Suns can exercise the option to re-sign a rookie for the third year, and that option can be exercised after the rookie completes his first season in the league until Oct. 31st before the player's second season.

The Phoenix Suns Have Set Their Roster For 2012-2013

Kris Habbas — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 22:30:23 -0000

Putting a roster together year-in-and-year-out is hard enough in itself, but doing so during a summer that was hyped up as the beginning of a new Era in Suns Basketball is nearly impossible. For the Phoenix Suns they used what amounts to every second they had this off-season to evaluate their options and puzzle together their 15-man roster for the 2012-2013 season.

The mass overall includes a total of nine new players after it was announced the team has kept training camp hold overs Diante Garrett and Luke Zeller.

"I don't see, unless there is something unforeseen, I see this as our roster," said general manager Lance Blanks about the roster Thursday. "Things can change, particularly at the bottom of the roster, with injuries or if something happens we would have to tweak something."

It did come down to the wire with Ike Diogu and Solomon Jones being waived just six days before the regular season begins and only 24 hours before the teams final pre-season tilt. Garrett has been a favorite of the Suns staff for going on a few years now with his ability to score and play the point. He has been impressive through Summer League, training camp, the pre-season, and most importantly in practice proving he has a spot on this roster despite the log-jam at the one.

With Zeller he provides a little of what Channing Frye would have, albeit a very inexperienced version of Frye, but nonetheless a perimeter shooter from the five spot. For these two they help the team the most in practice and as injury buffers if someone goes down. Playing in the Developmental League is also an option for those at the bottom of the roster that could benefit from playing experience verse bench time in the big leagues.

Here are the 2012-2013 Phoenix Suns:

No.	Player	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Birthdate	College/Country	Yrs Pro
0	Michael Beasley	F	6-10	245	1/9/1989	Kansas State/USA	4
26	Shannon Brown	G	6-4	215	11/29/1985	Michigan State/USA	6
1	Goran Dragic	G	6-3	195	5/6/1986	Union Olimpija/Slovenia	4
3	Jared Dudley	F	6-7	225	7/10/1985	Boston College/USA	5
8	Channing Frye	F/C	6-11	255	5/17/1983	Arizona/USA	7
10	Diante Garrett	G	6-4	175	11/3/1988	Iowa State/USA	R
4	Marcin Gortat	C	6-11	245	2/17/1984	RheinEnergie Koln/Poland	5
2	Wesley Johnson	F	6-7	210	7/11/1987	Syracuse/USA	2
12	Kendall Marshall	G	6-4	200	8/19/1991	North Carolina/USA	R
11	Markieff Morris	F	6-10	245	9/2/1989	Kansas/USA	1
20	Jermaine O'Neal	C	6-11	260	10/13/1978	Eau Claire HS/USA	16
14	Luis Scola	F	6-9	240	4/30/1980	Tau Ceramica/Argentina	5
31	Sebastian Telfair	G	6-0	175	6/9/1985	Abraham Lincoln HS/USA	8
17	P.J. Tucker	F	6-6	235	5/5/1985	Texas/USA	1
40	Luke Zeller	F/C	6-11	245	4/7/1987	Notre Dame/USA	R