Jones Leading League With Smart Steals

Eddie Jones, putting some distance between himself and the field for the league lead in steals, went into Friday’s game against the Celtics having averaged 3.6 the previous five contests and 3.47 the previous 17.

Jones, at 2.79 for the season, says it’s probably his best run as a pro in that category. Laker Coach Del Harris simply says it’s impressive, even beyond the numbers.

“Steals in and of themselves are not necessarily as good as people might think,” Harris said. “I’ve seen a lot of players in this league who were high steals guys, but who were such aggressive gamblers that they percentage they did get did not make it a worthwhile payoff. They would go for a lot of steals, but to get two or three they had overcommitted so much that they would give up a lot more points.

“But Eddie and Jerome [Kersey] are two guys who I think are really efficient steals players. What you see is what you get. They don’t give up much defense to get their steals.”