Man, let me tell you this whole Christian Jones deep dive kinda started by accident. I was just scrolling through some old game logs around 3 AM – couldn’t sleep again – and noticed something weird about his second half splits. Way better than the first half. Got curious, you know?
Decided to Dig In Properly
Right, so my main thing was figuring out why he improved. First step? Went full-on replay nerd. Pulled up every single game from the Bucks’ 2025 season on league pass. Started January 1st. The early games? Painful. Jones looked lost half the time.
- That early December slump: Man, watched him miss like 10 open threes in a row across three games. Just brutal. Hands were everywhere, defense looked slow. Real “oh no” moments.
- Post All-Star Break stuff jumped out: Night and day difference. He wasn’t just scoring more, he was moving differently. Started hunting rebounds harder, way less dumb fouls on defense. Saw him actually setting real screens!
- Took notes like crazy: Seriously, filled a whole notebook. How many times he drove left vs. right. How often he passed out of double teams. Even tracked his closeout speed defensively. Simple stuff, but it adds up.
Putting the Puzzle Pieces Together
Just watching wasn’t enough, had to get the numbers to back up what my eyes saw. Spent a whole Saturday buried in stats pages.
- That shooting percentage jump was real: Went from like 41% FG before February to almost 49% after. Three-pointers? From barely 30% to a respectable 36%. Big leap.
- More than just scoring: Dude started grabbing way more boards. Assist numbers crept up too. Didn’t need fancy stats to see he was impacting wins more. Bucks looked sharper when he played smart.
- Started looking outside the box: Checked stuff like the Bucks’ injury reports. Coincidence? Soon as Middleton missed some games mid-March, Jones started getting way more touches. Wasn’t just him getting better, opportunity opened up.
What This Means Going Forward
Alright, after drowning in game tape and spreadsheets, here’s where I land with Jones.
- He’s gotta keep this energy: That aggression he found late season? Can’t disappear in October. Needs to attack the rim like he did in April, every single night. That passive guy from November can’t show up anymore.
- Consistency is king: Saw flashes of greatness, especially defensively. But then he’d vanish for a whole quarter. Can’t have that. Needs to bring it consistently, period. One good game isn’t enough.
- Don’t get complacent: Bucks got old guys. Giannis ain’t getting younger. Jones could seriously step up into a bigger role if he keeps building on this second half. But it’s a big IF. He’s not the finished product yet.
Honestly? Feels like he finally figured some things out towards the end of 2025. Showed what he can be. Now the pressure’s on. Can he do it for a whole season? Can he do it when teams actually scheme for him? We’ll see. But man, watching that transformation unfold was kinda cool.