Crvena Zvezda spent the summer assembling several players capable of creating their own offense, but Ibon Navarro faced an equally important challenge: turning all that individual talent into a cohesive team. Tyson Carter, Jared Butler and Jordan Nwora have enough scoring ability to take over when a game calls for it. For a team hoping to make a serious EuroLeague run, relying solely on individual shot-making would be a risk.
Within that setup, Chris Jones has already become one of Zvezda’s most important players through the first eight rounds. His impact has been particularly evident in the way he runs the offense, although he has also shown on several occasions that he can shoulder a much heavier scoring load. He has also proven to be the kind of replacement Zvezda needed following Cody Miller-McIntyre’s departure.
The 100-78 win over Maccabi, in which Zvezda delivered its best offensive performance of the EuroLeague season so far, offered perhaps the clearest example of his importance.
The Scorers Got the Numbers, Jones Organized Everything
Carter led the scoring with 24 points and six three-pointers, Butler added 21 and Nwora finished with 18. Their production defined the game, but the way Zvezda generated its offense from the opening possession deserves a closer look. Christian Koloko’s first two baskets came off Jones assists, immediately establishing a connection between Zvezda’s perimeter players and its center. The shooters then took over, exploiting the space Maccabi’s defense repeatedly gave them. Zvezda finished the first quarter with a 34-15 lead. Jones recorded seven assists in those ten minutes, producing 17 points for his teammates. Add his own basket, and Jones had a direct hand in 19 of Zvezda’s 34 first-quarter points.
Carter made all four of his three-point attempts during that opening stretch and scored 14 points. His shooting was exceptional, but the way Zvezda generated those looks mattered as well. The ball rarely stuck in one player’s hands, and Jones consistently delivered passes on time, allowing his teammates to take advantage of the space available to them. He finished with nine assists that produced a total of 22 points. Four went to Nwora for ten points, two to Carter for six and two to Koloko for four. The remaining assist went to Ebuka Izundu.
Just as importantly, Jones committed only one turnover in 18 minutes and 33 seconds on the floor. Zvezda outscored Maccabi by 20 points during his minutes, giving him the best plus-minus on the team. Jones and Carter shared the floor for 18 minutes and 29 seconds, during which Zvezda held an 18-point advantage.
Carter was able to concentrate on what he does best without having to initiate the offense on a regular basis. Jones had already demonstrated his value to Zvezda in several different situations this season, even as the demands placed on him changed from game to game.
Jones Has Already Shown He Can Play Several Different Roles
In the EuroLeague opener against Žalgiris, he scored 15 points and handed out eight assists without committing a turnover. Despite Zvezda’s defeat, he was among the players who contributed most to the team’s offensive organization. Facing his former club ASVEL, Jones recorded eight points and nine assists before taking responsibility on the final possession and hitting a difficult midrange jumper to secure an 84-82 victory. After spending most of the game setting up his teammates, Jones created his own shot in the decisive moment and delivered the win. Against Paris, his playmaking once again came to the forefront. He scored four points while recording seven assists and no turnovers.
The Belgrade derby then required a much greater scoring contribution. In the 85-82 loss to Partizan, Jones led Zvezda with 22 points and added four assists. He was particularly influential during his team’s comeback from a substantial deficit, when Zvezda needed him to create offense on his own. He did not get everything right. His drive for a potential game-winning basket at the end of regulation was blocked by Kevarrius Hayes, and Zvezda eventually lost in overtime. Against Partizan, Jones took on the role of one of Zvezda’s primary scorers. Five days later, against Maccabi, he directed an offense in which Carter, Butler and Nwora combined for 63 points.
Forty-Nine Assists and Only Eight Turnovers
Jones has adapted well to what Ibon Navarro expects from his playmakers. In his first eight EuroLeague appearances for Zvezda, Jones recorded 49 assists and just eight turnovers. That works out to 6.1 assists and one turnover per game in slightly less than 20 minutes of playing time.
Last season with Hapoel, he averaged 4.2 assists and 1.6 turnovers while playing almost exactly the same number of minutes. His playmaking responsibilities have increased at Zvezda, while his turnover rate has dropped. Jones is also averaging 9.1 points, reflecting the distribution of offensive responsibilities among Zvezda’s guards. He is not playing particularly heavy minutes, but his production as a playmaker has been exceptional.
Twenty-Eight Assists Showed What Navarro Wants From This Offense
He also had plenty of help against Maccabi. Nick Weiler-Babb contributed four assists, while Carter, Butler and Nwora made excellent use of the space they were given. Zvezda finished the game with 28 assists on 33 made field goals. In other words, nearly 85 percent of its baskets from the field were assisted.
By halftime, Zvezda had already recorded 18 assists against just four turnovers while building a 55-30 lead. The difference in offensive execution was evident on the floor, where Maccabi struggled throughout the first 20 minutes to contain Zvezda’s perimeter players. Some of that production, of course, reflected the shortcomings of Maccabi’s defense. Zvezda made 16 of its 35 three-point attempts, a shooting percentage it cannot realistically expect to reproduce in every EuroLeague game. Maccabi was often late with its defensive reactions, and Zvezda’s shooters punished virtually every opening.
Maccabi grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and scored 22 second-chance points. Against a stronger opponent, particularly in a close game, that could prove considerably more costly. Maccabi finished with just 13 assists, compared with Zvezda’s 28. Navarro’s team controlled the offensive tempo from the start, with Jones playing a major role in establishing that control in the opening quarter.
Eight rounds into the season, Navarro has a player who can run his team and, as he showed against ASVEL and Partizan, take on a greater scoring responsibility when needed.
