Duke may get Tre Jones back a little quicker than expected

TALLAHASSEE, FL - JANUARY 12: Tre Jones (3) guard Duke University Blue Devils leads a fast break to the basket against the Florida State University (FSU) Seminoles in an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) match-up, Saturday, January 12, 2019, at Donald Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by David Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Tre Jones has missed the last two games for Duke with a shoulder injury, but he may return Saturday against Georgia Tech.

Immediately after he was injured against Syracuse on Jan. 14, it looked like Duke point guard Tre Jones was facing a significant, multi-week absence. A separated AC joint in his right shoulder is nothing to take lightly, but those initial concerns gave way to the idea Jones wouldn’t miss a ton of time and there was slim hope he wouldn’t miss any games at all.

On Friday, coach Mike Krzyzewski declared Jones is probable for Saturday’s home game against Georgia Tech.

The Blue Devils have won both games with Jones out of the lineup, over Virginia and Pitt, as no one is crying for the No. 2 team in the country with a lineup loaded with future NBA lottery picks (Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish). But Jones leads the team in assists (5.7 per game) and steals (2.1 per game), with a 5.69 assist-to-turnover ratio that’s good for second in the country. Williamson and Barrett in particular stand out as higher-end NBA prospects, but there’s a case for Jones as Duke’s most important player.

Just how much Jones would play on Saturday is uncertain, and it’s surely going to be dictated by how he feels or how the game is going. Georgia Tech is 11-8 so far this season (3-3 in the ACC), and quite frankly the Blue Devils should have little trouble beating them with or without Jones.

https://twitter.com/DukeMBB/status/1088819676757544960

dark. Next. 5 replacements for Steve Alford at UCLA

It’s easy to dismiss Saturday as anything resembling a key game for Duke. But they are one of five teams tied atop the ACC with a 5-1 record in-conference, with Virginia, North Carolina, Syracuse and Louisville) and a sixth (Virginia Tech) is sitting at 4-2 in conference play. So winning the “ones you’re supposed to” is pretty important right now, and a home game against Georgia Tech qualifies as that. Jones’ presence can only help, even if he’s not desperately needed right now.