Cleveland Cavaliers Player Watch: James Jones' Milestones to Look For in 2016-17

Jun 22, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Jones celebrates during the NBA championship parade in downtown Cleveland. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

We’re all eager for the start of the 2016-17 NBA season. While we wait, here are milestones to look for Cleveland Cavaliers veteran James Jones this season.

Last year was an incredible season for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They had their ups and downs, from Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert‘s injuries to chemistry issues later on in the regular season and a 3-1 deficit in the Finals.

Despite the rocky road, the Cavs came out on top. They united and prevailed, giving the franchise its first ever NBA championship and giving Cleveland its first major sports title in 52 years.

While last season was a dream for Clevelanders and Cavs fans everywhere, it ended more than two months ago. And now we’re ready for some more basketball and counting down the days until the 2016-17 NBA season begins.

In the meantime, we’re taking a look at all the milestones that various Cavs players can reach this upcoming season. As a veteran and a leader, James Jones is extremely important to the team and he’s up next. At the age of 35 and with 13 seasons in the NBA, Jones has several milestones to keep an eye out for.

Sep 26, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Jones (1) poses for a photo during media day at Cleveland Clinic Courts. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

700th Game

Although James Jones has been in the NBA for 13 years now, he’s never played a full season, averaging just over 50 games per year. The closest he has come was 81 games with Miami in the 2010-11 season. That’s why he currently has only 661 games under his belt . With all that being said, Jones may be able to hit a milestone in games played. If Jones plays his career average of 50 games, he can end up passing the 700 mark. It may not be the highest milestone out there for games played, but it’s still significant.

Nov 25, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry (7) comes away with possession of the ball as he battles for the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers forward James Jones (1) and center Tristan Thompson (13) at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Cavaliers 103-99. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

1,300th Total Rebounds

Jones is a sharp shooting small forward who specializes in three pointers, so it may be surprising to find out that he has his fair share of rebounds. He currently has 1,239 total rebounds and averages 1.9 per game. If he can get that number over his career average of 50 games, Jones can get 95 more rebounds this year. That would put him at 1,334, comfortably passing the 1,300th total rebound milestone.

Oct 12, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Jones (1) drives past Memphis Grizzlies forward Jarnell Stokes (1) at the Schottenstein Center. Memphis won 91-81. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports

1,200th Field Goal

Jones is a great shooter, which means it makes complete sense that he has a few milestones in the field goal department. He currently has over 1,000 field goals, with 1,161 specifically. He averages around 1.8, so at that rate over a career average of 50 games per year, Jones can reach 1,200 field goals and more. Even if Jones only gets his 2015-2016 field goal average of 1.2, he can still reach this milestone.

Nov 25, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Cleveland Cavaliers forward James Jones (1) reacts after hitting a three-point shot at the end of the third quarter against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Cavaliers 103-99. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

800th Three Pointer

As a skilled shooter and specifically a three-point shooter, Jones has killed teams with his shot behind the arc. Because of this, it comes as no surprise that there is a milestone with threes that he can reach this year. He currently has 745 threes in the bank. With a career average of 1.1 three pointers over a career average of 50 games, Jones could get exactly 800 threes. He averaged slightly less per game last year, so let’s hope he can get a few more three pointers and hit that milestone. With his good friend LeBron James on the court and the style of play that coach Ty Lue is implementing, it seems fairly possible Jones can reach this milestone.

Dec 11, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Jones (1) shoots the ball over Orlando Magic forward Jason Smith (14) during the second half at Amway Center. The Cavaliers won 111-76. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

3,700 Points

Naturally, field goals and three pointers go hand in hand with points. That means that there’s a milestone in points that Jones can reach. Over his 13 years in the NBA, Jones has accumulated 3,585 points and a career average of 5.4 points per season. This means if he gets that number over 50 games, he can get way more than 3,700 points, landing at 3,855. Jones, however, averaged less last year with only 3.7 points per game. Still, with that average over 50 games, Jones can get 185 points, putting him comfortably past the 3,700th point milestone.

Jun 11, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Andre Iguodala (9) shoots the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers forward James Jones (1) in game four of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Larry W. Smith-Pool Photo via USA TODAY Sports

11,000th Minute Played

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Jones’ biggest milestone is in minutes played. While he hasn’t played an overwhelming number of games for a 13 year career, he has played many minutes over the games he did play. His career average is 16.2 minutes per game and he currently has 10,717 minutes. If he plays that 16.2 minutes over 50 games, he can end up with 11,527 total minutes. Again, Jones’ 2015-2016 average was lower than his career average at 9.6 minutes per game.

But even with this lower average, Jones can play his 11,000th minute. All he needs to do is play just 30 games with that average. Despite his decreasing minutes, Jones is an integral part of the Cavs. His physical presence on the court may be waning, but his impact off the court continues to be very strong.

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