I make a lot of fucking mistakes.
Daily, almost.
But fortunately for me, I don’t (yet) have a platform through which those mistakes can be viewed by hundreds of millions of people.
James Jones and company do, however.
I’ve never been a big college basketball fan.
College sports as a whole remain largely uninteresting to me.
But as a Maryland resident, I’ve been privy to a number of Maryland Terrapins watch parties, thanks to my good friend Southern Jonny.
This is why, when 2021 draft projections started surfacing, I was vocal about the lack of hype for Jalen Smith:
Smith was coming off of a sophomore campaign that earned him All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Defensive honors behind a pretty sound stat line: 15.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, and most notably—a .368 shooting clip on 2.8 attempts from deep.
Maryland lead the conference and finished the year at 24-7.
Smith drew comparisons from Myles Turner to Taj Gibson1 and posed teams the prospect of a big man who could contain the paint and effectively stretch the floor.
This is why, when the Phoenix Suns drafted him with the 10th overall pick, I was thrilled. Firstly for myself, but mostly for “Stix.”2
Outside of flat-out, otherworldly talent that you see within (most) first overall picks, there is no bigger proponent of a rookie’s progression than a quality point guard.3
And now with the Suns, Smith was on his way to playing with not only a strong point guard but one of the best floor generals in the history of the game.
Counting on Chris Paul to guide Jalen through his inaugural years in the NBA is one of the safest wagers I’ve ever made.
But momentarily, it didn’t look bound for a payout.
When I was younger, sometime within early to mid-adolescence, my friend Jordan brought me to a University of South Carolina men's basketball game.
The story to follow is quite literally the only thing I remember about my experience.
At halftime, Jordan and I stepped out for a concessions run.
As two young men discovering their bodies and fueled with hormones, we scouted the ladies in attendance, knowing neither of us would be brave enough to talk with them.
Unfortunately for all parties involved, fate intervened, and I happened upon two ladies at one of those condiment stations at sporting events that truly shouldn’t be a thing anymore—it is impossible to obtain any of those sauces without making a mess.
Regardless, as the story goes, the ladies were attempting to locate ketchup for their own respective concession junk, and in an attempt to get their attention, I offered up a quick evaluation of the three condiments before us, each of a different variety:
“Hey ladies, the ketchup is right here!!!”—as I proceeded to drench my stadium fries in the red-colored condiment.4
“Uhhh, no. That’s barbeque sauce.”—as they each giggled and walked away, continuing on with their search that to this day may remain unresolved.5
The prepubescent scream that proceeded to leave my throat is one I’ll never be able to get back. And Jordan, as is his right, will never let me live down that moment.
That is quite literally one of the (if not the) smallest physical mistakes I’ve made in my 25 years on this planet. But it’s platform and the audience in attendance has cemented it in history.
No, I’m not comparing Jalen Smith to barbecue sauce.
If anything, he’s definitely within the ketchup tier, if there were to be a comparison.6
I’m also not comparing (unsuccessfully) hitting on women, to successful roster building in professional sports.
Although, now that I think about it…
…nevermind.
But like 12-to-14 year old me, James Jones’ eyes were too big for his stomach when he made the decision to decline Smith’s team option for the 2022-2023 season.
This means that the former 10th overall pick will be an unrestricted free agent after the season, and fully capable of signing with any of the NBA’s 29 other teams.
To put this further into focus, Smith is the first top-10 pick to have his third-year team option declined since Milwaukee declined Joe Alexander’s in 2009.
On declining the option, then-General Manager John Hammond said:
“It was a difficult decision not to pick up Joe Alexander's option…We believe Joe can be a good NBA player, but his latest injury has hampered our ability to further assess his progress.”
Jones has yet to issue a statement.
Perhaps, because unlike Hammond and the Bucks some *gulps* 12 years ago, he knows that he made the wrong choice.
And even if he doesn't know, Smith is reminding him on a game-by-game basis.
With starting center DeAndre Ayton sidelined in health and safety protocols, the second-year big was damn near force-fed a starting lineup appearance.
How he responded is why that first appearance quickly became four straight before Ayton returned to the lineup for their latest game loss to the Miami Heat.
Including a brief 13-minute stint in Phoenix’s latest loss7, Jalen Smith is averaging 13.9 points, 9.3 rebounds, and a .357 shooting from deep over his last seven games.
And among all second-year players, only Anthony Edwards—you know, the first overall pick from that draft—and Desmond Bane have a better net rating over that span: (+15.8, +8.2, +8.0).
According to Cleaning the Glass, in their 410 possessions with Jalen Smith on the floor this season, the Suns are scoring 120.2 points per 100 possessions and giving up just 103.2 points. Those numbers rank in the 97th and 94th percentiles respectively.
Phoenix’s last six opponents:
the Memphis Grizzlies
the Oklahoma City Thunder
the Boston Celtics
the Charlotte Hornets
the New Orleans Pelicans
the LA Clippers
Whatever you think of Steven Adams, Isaiah Roby, Robert Williams III, Mason Plumlee, Jonas Valancunias, and Serge Ibaka aside, each of them are serviceable NBA bigs, and are starters as of recent.
Given the opportunity to sink or swim, Smith took laps in an Olympic pool—rising above the occasion, and defying all expectations set before him.
It’s earned him a serious role on this Phoenix Suns roster—at least until the trade deadline—and cemented his immediate future in the NBA.
After dropping last year’s NBA Finals in six games to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Phoenix Suns began fortifying their roster for the years to come, signing starters Chris Paul and Mikal Bridges to multi-year extensions.
Aforementioned starting big DeAndre Ayton is next in line. He’ll be a restricted free agent this summer, which means there are three outstanding possibilities:
Following another successful postseason run, Ayton and the Suns agree on a five-year extension deemed fair by both parties.
Ayton can always sign the qualifying offer, playout 2022-2023, and just walk after one more go-around on Phoenix’s title chase.
OR, some team comes along with a lot of cap space and nothing to lose, signs Ayton to a ridiculous offer sheet, and the Suns’ cap situation becomes increasingly grim with Booker’s next extension only a summer away.
In either of those circumstances, having Jalen Smith--a young big who’s played solid spot-starter minutes for the team—under contract would help to ease the tension of this team’s closing window.
But alas, the head of the Phoenix Suns was born a gambling man, apparently.
As the resident New York Knicks fan, I’m subjected to poor big man play at least 33 minutes a night. It would be 48 if not for Taj, the team’s only proper screen setter.
No matter what you make of Stix’s disappointing rookie campaign, when he predictably failed to break into Monty Williams’ rotation during his team’s championship run; the small sample size here tells us Jalen Smith has a future playing in this league.
That being said, if he ever makes his way to Madison Square Garden in the upcoming offseason; someone tell James Jones to give me a call.
I’d love to buy him a beer.
We’re looking at a seven-game slate today, which for a Monday, is fantastic.
Despite missing all of (deep breath): Brook Lopez, George Hill, Grayson Allen, Jrue Holiday, and Pat Connaughton—and having lost to them in their most recent game, Milwaukee is favored tonight over Charlotte on the road. Thoughts:
the Hornets are 13-3 against the spread at home this season, while the Bucks are 12-10 against the spread on the road.
Giannis is on a tear right now, averaging 33.9 points over his last seven games. Whatever you see his points line at, take the over.
I’d also expect one of LaMelo Ball or Terry Rozier to have another proactive performance against Milwaukee, with Holiday out. They combined for 47 points—and four turnovers—in the latest matchup.
I like Indiana as an underdog on the road in Boston tonight, with (+6.5) seemingly the most common line. Thoughts:
the Pacers snapped a six-game losing streak with a win over the Jazz on Saturday, behind a 42-point outing from Domantas Sabonis.
Indiana has been an improved passing (25.5 assists per game) and scoring team (111 points per game) since the (third) arrival of Lance Stephenson. This seems a trend likely to continue, following his 14-assist, 1-turnover night against Utah.
If the Celtics’ recent win over the Knicks tells you anything about New York, then their previous loss (awesome buzzer-beater withstanding) should show you that Boston is one of the more vulnerable “contenders” this year.
There may be no safer wager tonight than taking Philadelphia (-10.5) in Houston.
Thoughts:
the 76ers are 14-8 on the road, and the Rockets are 7-12 at home this season.
Houston gave up 141 points to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, and on the second night of a back-to-back, likely won’t be braced for the defensive performance it will take to overcome these rolling 76ers.
Joel Embiid has scored 30+ points in six straight games (all wins), including a 30-point triple-double against a shorthanded Rockets team last week. Take the over on his points and rebounds props are tonight. Thank me later.
That’s it for today!
Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this, do me a favor and go to my Twitter account, where this article will be pinned, and give it a retweet!
And if you enjoyed this but aren’t yet a subscriber, I’ll drop that button here, too:
See you all in a few days.
Your reminder that Taj Gibson is eternal. He’s averaging 7.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.7 blocks per 36 minutes this season. The list of players doing that this season at age 35 or older is four names: Al Horford, Dwight Howard, Taj, and LaMarcus Aldridge.
Smith earned this nickname in college because of his twig-like frame.
*glares in New York Knicks fan*
There has never been a more depressing image than my younger self trying to salvage those french fries. Never.
If either of you is reading this, I miss you.
I fucking love ketchup. The sauce supreme.
One where I’m inclined to mention that he finished as a (+6), despite shooting 0-for-4 from the field and only scored two points.
Good work!