WATCH: Tre Jones Sends Message to Mexico Ahead of Spurs vs. Heat
Tre Jones recently delivered a message to San Antonio Spurs fans in Mexico as his team gets set to face the Miami Heat in Mexico City this season on Saturday, Dec. 17.
The matchup will be one of only four nationally-televised games for the Spurs this upcoming season and will take place exactly a week after San Antonio will face the Heat in South Beach on Saturday, Dec. 10.
The Spurs last played in Mexico City in Dec. 2019 in what was a thrilling 121-119 overtime victory over the Phoenix Suns. Former Spurs great Patty Mills hit a game-winning jumper with .3 of a second remaining to give the Spurs a win in front of a rowdy crowd at Arena Ciudad de Mexico.
The Spurs and fans should be in for another exciting performance against a Heat team that was one win away from making it to the NBA Finals after securing the No. 1 seed in the East this past season.
As for Jones, he could be the Spurs' starting point guard in that game depending on what coach Gregg Popovich is looking for his in starting unit this season.
Jones enters his third season with a near guarantee to see an increased role. With Dejounte Murray now with the Atlanta Hawks, there's a void to fill at the starting point guard spot.
Since the blockbuster trade that sent Murray to Atlanta, fans have clamored for more Josh Primo, with the expectation from some that he can step in at the lead-guard spot. However, Jones showed last season that his skillset is better suited for the starting role.
Jones averaged six points, 2.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 16.6 minutes last year. He might not be the guard fans want to see take away starting minutes from Josh Primo this upcoming season. But with with 69 appearances and 11 starts last year, Jones is a likely candidate to get the starting nod.
In the final seven regular-season games, Jones never played less than 17 minutes and even had five-straight games of 30 minutes or more. And still, he only committed five total turnovers in that span and had zero turnovers in five of those contests.
He also scored in double figures in the final six games of the regular season and proved he can do it at an efficient rate. Jones led all qualified Spurs guards in field-goal percentage (49 percent).
By the time the Spurs travel to Mexico, his role as the starting point guard could already be locked up.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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