Jones can see what he’s been missing
Terrence Jones was in a jovial mood Monday after participating in his first practice with his Rockets teammates this month. The power forward even poked fun at the eye injury that had kept him out of action since Oct. 30.
Jones missed the last five games while recovering from a lacerated right eyelid suffered in the second game of the season when the Warriors’ Stephen Curry accidentally poked him.
Jones didn’t hesitate when asked if there were some things he saw from watching his teammates play that might help him upon his return. Before answering the question, he shut his right eyelid and smiled.
“Barely. I’m like this watching the game,” he said with a wink of the right eye. “I tried to see as much as I could. I talked to the coaches, went over a lot of film just to try to get better, even though I wasn’t on the floor.”
It’s good Jones could find some humor in his latest in a series of ailments and injuries over the last year. After playing a career-high 76 games with 71 starts in the 2013-14 season, Jones was limited to 33 games last season.
Most notably, the 6-9 power forward was plagued by a nerve issue that robbed him of any feeling in his left foot, costing him nearly three months of the season. A year ago at this time, Jones was at Memorial Hermann undergoing tests to determine what had caused the nerve issue, which kept him out from Nov. 3 until Jan. 28. He also missed time with a collapsed lung later in the season.
He still averaged 15.6 points per game, a slight decrease from the careerhigh 16 points per game of the previous season.
Jones was hurt again before this season even started. He bruised his ribs in training camp and sustained a concussion against the Heat in the preseason. Then he suffered the fluke eye injury.
Jones tried to open his right eyelid to remain in that game against Golden State, but he couldn’t adjust his vision. He ultimately needed stitches on his right eyelid.
“I didn’t really have too much time to lose any type of rhythm that I was building off,” he said. “I came in here working out with one eye, and now I’m out here with two again, so it’s good.”
Jones has no explanation for the ailments that have plagued him over the last year.
“It just comes with playing the game,” he said. “I can’t control nothing like that. I just try to continue to get back, get right, and get back there and help my team get a win.”
It remains to be seen how long Jones can play Wednesday when the Rockets put their four-game winning streak on the line against the Brooklyn Nets at Toyota Center. Coach Kevin McHale wasn’t ready to say how he plans to integrate Jones back into the team.
“Terrence has missed a lot with a lot of different stuff,” McHale said. “He’s just got to get himself in great shape so he can go out there and help us.”
Although he has missed the last five games, Jones is optimistic it won’t take him long to get back in the flow with his teammates.
“It’s very early,” he said. “Everybody is pretty much now just getting a little flow. It shouldn’t be too much — just getting out there as much as I can and making plays.”