Washington Wizards: Tyus Jones, in the midst of a career season, deserves a larger role

The Washington Wizards had their share of struggles all season. Sitting at 4-21, the Wizards failed to meet the already minimal expectations for the season. The defensive intensity, half-court offense, and rebounding have all been problems through the first 25 games. One of the bright spots amidst all the deflating losses has been Tyus Jones.

Tyus Jones was the primary return for the Wizards in the Kristaps Porzingis trade. It was a big opportunity for Jones in his contract year to have the full-time starting point guard job for the first time in his career. He had proven himself to be one of the best backup point guards in the league, but how he was going to perform as a starter for a full season was a question mark. So far, he has lived up to the expectations.

The 27-year-old guard has long been known as a floor general who doesn't make any mistakes. He doesn't have the flashiest game but he is extremely effective in putting his teammates in a position to succeed. He is one of the least turnover-prone players in the league, as demonstrated once again by his league-leading assist-to-turnover ratio this season.

His no-nonsense style of play shows up in his individual scoring as well. He is not going to put you in a torture chamber with flashy dribble moves or pull-up threes. But, he will run the pick-and-roll effectively, get to his spots, and consistently hit his lethal floaters. Despite being an undersized, 6'1 guard, he is extremely efficient near the basket. He is shooting 75% around the rim, and 51% from short-midrange area (from 4 feet to 14 feet from the basket). Both of these numbers are over the 90th percentile among all point guards, according to Cleaning the Glass data.

This level of accuracy in his floaters and rim finishes is the reason Jones is having the most efficient season of his career. At 59.3% True Shooting, Jones is above league average in terms of efficiency for the first time in his career.

Combine that with his playmaking and pick-and-roll operating, and you have a really valuable offensive player on your hands.

That is why the Washington Wizards need to trust Jones with the ball more. His usage rate of 16.3% is way too low for a player of his caliber. In fact, that usage rate is behind every player in the Wizards' regular rotation except for Bilal Coulibaly and Daniel Gafford. It behooves the Wizards to get the ball out of their less efficient players and give it to Jones due to his superior decision-making.

Tyus Jones had a triple-double and a double-double in back-to-back games. He is hitting his stride now. If the Wizards have any shot at looking like a solid NBA offense, Jones has to be the engine. It's time the coaching staff treated him like one.