MIAMI -- Until Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade came along,
Eddie Jones was the Miami Heat's absolute go-to guy.
Now, he's the third offensive option -- yet perhaps plays a more
important role.
Jones is the Heat's top defender, usually drawing the assignment
of slowing the opposition's top perimeter threat. When Miami opens
its Eastern Conference quarterfinal series Sunday against New
Jersey, Jones will spend most of his time chasing high-scoring Nets
guard Vince Carter.
"He's very confident. When the ball is going in for a player,
the confidence just rises and rises and rises," Jones said. "And
when you're winning, it's even harder to control somebody. I think
his confidence level is as high as it's been."
In the teams' last meeting, Miami's 90-65 win on March 12,
Carter was 5-for-14 from the floor. He hasn't been the same player
since, and carried the Nets to an absolutely torrid finish.
Over his final 19 games, starting the next night in Orlando,
Carter averaged 31 points on 51-percent shooting, including 44.1
percent from 3-point range. The Nets went 15-4, securing the East's
eighth playoff spot at 42-40 -- the same mark that earned Miami a
No. 4 seed last season.
"He's probably been the best perimeter player in the league
since that time and he's shooting the ball extremely well from
everywhere," Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said. "He has been on fire
and he's a tough guy to stop."
Yet whenever Miami needs to stop a Carter-type player, Jones
prefers to get the call.
"The way I think about basketball now is totally different from
earlier in my career," Jones said. "My approach is totally
different. I know what it takes to win. It takes guys to sacrifice
offense for defense."
Jones, who led Miami in scoring the previous four seasons,
struggled early in his new role -- leaving some to wonder if the
33-year-old was finished.
After 22 games, he was averaging 10.0 points on 33.5-percent
shooting. Yet in his last 58 games, he averaged 13.8 points on
46.1-percent shooting.
"I don't have a problem being the third option," Jones said.
"There's nothing wrong with that. ... All I'm trying to do is fill
a role that we need at the time."
And with the Heat turning to O'Neal and Wade to carry the
scoring load, Jones emerged as a somewhat-surprising team leader in
another category. The 6-foot-6, 200-pound Jones -- rail-thin by NBA
standards -- drew 24 offensive fouls this season, one more than
Miami power forward Udonis Haslem.
Teammates say Jones' willingness to sacrifice his body proves
his desire to win.
"He takes a beating, but he hops back up," said Wade, who led
Miami in scoring (24.1). "He's not one of the strongest guys in
the league, by any means."
Physically, certainly not. But mentally, Jones has proven his
toughness.
He's been a prime target for criticism during his time in Miami
-- especially during last year's postseason. He shot 36.6 percent
from the floor, including a 6-for-21 effort against Indiana in Game
6 of the East semifinals, when the Heat's season ended with a 73-70
loss.
But through the rocky times, Van Gundy stood by the team's
captain. Now, no one's complaining.
"Eddie doesn't question," Van Gundy said. "He just goes out
and does what you ask him to do to the best of his ability. If
you're not running plays for him, you're not running plays for him.
He's not going to say anything. ... He is absolutely one of the
finest professionals I've been around."