Perry Jones Suffers a Setback

The Boston Celtics have a great number of players that are on the fringe of the roster and Perry Jones may be at the head of the pack. Jones appeared to impress during the early moments of the offseason as he went from being expected to be cut immediately, to having a legitimate chance at a roster spot.

Even recently, Fox Sports reported that Brad Stevens was growing to appreciate Jones and he showered him with these praises, “He’s a great guy. I have had a chance to spend time with him and I really enjoy him. He’s a worker. He’s got a great way about him. He’s the kind of guy you want to have around”.

Jones knew that it would be a longshot for him to make the roster but everything was starting to work in his favour. And now, all of that progress may be in jeopardy. CSNNE has reported that Perry Jones has suffered a knee injury that already forced him to miss two practices. The good news is that it should not threaten his trip to Europe with the team. However, he will certainly suffer after missing any time.

Two things may happen to seriously harm Jones’ status while he is out. First of all, it gives every other player an opportunity to gain ground on him. As camp goes on and players get more comfortable they should continue to impress. While those players are leaving their mark, Jones will be forced to sit back and watch.

Dec 23, 2014; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Perry Jones (3) dives for a loose ball with Portland Trail Blazers guard Allen Crabbe (23) during the second quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The other potentially more serious issue for Jones is that he may fall behind in adapting to a new system. Not only is Jones a new addition to this team but he is a very young addition. Jones will need time to get used to both the offensive and defensive system. It gets even worse considering what is expected of him on the defensive end. Brad Stevens spoke about Jones’ troubles on the new team: “The toughest part for Perry right now is coming into a new situation with a whole new team and a whole new system, and having to guard two positions”.

Jones’ size and athleticism gives him different options in Stevens’ system, but that also makes the preparation more difficult. Jones would have already had a tough task getting completely used to the system but if he misses any kind of extended time with the knee injury, he may never recover.

The Celtics do not have the space to accommodate an injured player who falls behind and Jones may be at the mercy of other players also falling behind. Jones can be a valuable asset to the Celtics but they already have 16 guaranteed contracts who may all be valuable assets.

Jones has clearly left a strong impression on the Celtics but now he has to hope that the impression was strong enough to overcome him missing time during the most important portion of camp.

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