What Can We Expect From Amir Johnson?

[Big333223]

The last 3 seasons in Toronto, he's played around 28mpg and averaged about 10 points, 6-7 rebounds, shooting 56% from the floor. His best season he averaged 1.4 blocks and 1.0 steal, 3 years ago.

His defense goes beyond the numbers and he's going to provide some good leadership and a 10 year NBA vet but he's also only 28 so there isn't any reason to expect a dip in production. What are the expectations for himin terms of minutes and production under Stevens, with the roster as it currently looks.

[Smitty77]

Amir's numbers were MUCH BETTER at the Center position than as a PF last year. 

http://www.82games.com/1415/14TOR9.HTM

That is where I believe his future is as he ages and slows down.

Smitty77

[Big333223]

Amir's numbers were MUCH BETTER at the Center position than as a PF last year. 

http://www.82games.com/1415/14TOR9.HTM

That is where I believe his future is as he ages and slows down.

Smitty77

Nice. That is good news.

[Smitty77]

Amir's numbers were MUCH BETTER at the Center position than as a PF last year. 

http://www.82games.com/1415/14TOR9.HTM

That is where I believe his future is as he ages and slows down.

Smitty77

Nice. That is good news.

Agreed.  I think that many on this board don't understand that Danny got Amir to be our center, NOT our PF.  That is where is statistically superior and that differential will likely expand as he continues to age.

It seems that almost everyone on this board considers him a PF and still believes he is 6'9" because that is how tall he was when he came out of high school into the NBA.  That simply is not the case any more.  He is around 6'11" in shoes and is plenty strong to defend most NBA centers.

I watched Amir play in person many times when he played with the Fayetteville Patriots in the NBADL.  My young son and I would drive two hours from Albemarle to see Gerald Green and the Patriots many times per year.  Amir was VERY skinny back then, but he is definitely a MAN now!!

Smitty77

[max215]

Amir's numbers were MUCH BETTER at the Center position than as a PF last year. 

http://www.82games.com/1415/14TOR9.HTM

That is where I believe his future is as he ages and slows down.

Smitty77

Yep, I've been slotting him as our starting Center since shortly after the signing.

[Smitty77]

Amir's numbers were MUCH BETTER at the Center position than as a PF last year. 

http://www.82games.com/1415/14TOR9.HTM

That is where I believe his future is as he ages and slows down.

Smitty77

Yep, I've been slotting him as our starting Center since shortly after the signing.

Great minds think alike!!:-)))

Smitty77

[tarheelsxxiii]

Not intending to be contentious - I've been hopeful he can be our C this year, and I expect he may be the best two-way player on the team this year - but 82games is indicating he played less than 10% of C minutes for Toronto last year. So, do you think it's sustainable for significant minutes? Or, were his minutes at C specific to an occassional small ball line-up that generally favored him?

[Celtics18]

Not intending to be contentious - I've been hopeful he can be our C this year, and I expect he may be the best two-way player on the team this year - but 82games is indicating he played less than 10% of C minutes for Toronto last year. So, do you think it's sustainable for significant minutes? Or, were his minutes at C specific to an occassional small ball line-up that generally favored him?

http://www.82games.com/1415/14BOS20.HTM#bypos

It seems we have two front court players who were considerably better at center than power forward last year.

Unlike Amir, though, Kelly played the bulk of his minutes at center.

[tarheelsxxiii]

Not intending to be contentious - I've been hopeful he can be our C this year, and I expect he may be the best two-way player on the team this year - but 82games is indicating he played less than 10% of C minutes for Toronto last year. So, do you think it's sustainable for significant minutes? Or, were his minutes at C specific to an occassional small ball line-up that generally favored him?

http://www.82games.com/1415/14BOS20.HTM#bypos

It seems we have two front court players who were considerably better at center than power forward last year.

Unlike Amir, though, Kelly played the bulk of his minutes at center.

Good point. I think I posted about that in another thread. If I recall correctly, KO saw a major jump in minutes at C in his 2nd year, and his stats improved from 1st year along with it.

Problem coming into next season is if Sully isn't moved, KO could be sharing minutes with 4 other bigs. That's insane to me, definitely not optimal roster management. Assuming someone will be gone by all-star break, though.

I like a combination of Amir and KO about as much as Amir and Lee. I'm hopeful that can work, especially if Lee is a one-year rental. Gut says Amir may be more than that...

[mr. dee]

Rim Protection.

[slamtheking]

what can we expect?

A PF/C that will provide solid defense and rebounding and provide some scoring that many here will be surprised by.

that, and a happy Slamtheking because this guy has been a binky of mine for several years 

[Rosco917]

IMO Amir was a nice addition. He and Zeller will provide a nice rotation in the middle. Amir should do well when we go small too, and can slide over to PF against bigger lineups. Let's face it, we needed help in the paint. 

He's not the rim protecting, center we needed, but I'm glad he's aboard.   

[Celtics4ever]

length, running the floor and defensive integrity is what I expect from him.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

Mainly defense.

He's long, athletic and he will be asked to protect the rim at some capacity. I'd take an eventual 18-20 foot  jumper as well if he would be called on to do that.

[Smitty77]

Not intending to be contentious - I've been hopeful he can be our C this year, and I expect he may be the best two-way player on the team this year - but 82games is indicating he played less than 10% of C minutes for Toronto last year. So, do you think it's sustainable for significant minutes? Or, were his minutes at C specific to an occasional small ball line-up that generally favored him?
[/quote




The Raptor player with the highest PER was Jonas Valanciunas with a PER of 20.6.  We do NOT have a center approaching JV.

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/6477/jonas-valanciunas

He is WHY Amir only played 10 minutes per at C.

Smitty77