James Johnson Discussion

[ceez]

His passing ability has really impressed me. He seems to "find" Amir a lot, it seems. The two have great chemistry in fast break and pick&roll situations.

[Tim W.]

His passing ability has really impressed me. He seems to "find" Amir a lot, it seems. The two have great chemistry in fast break and pick&roll situations.

I think Amir's one of those players that makes it easy to have great chemistry with. I've played with a few guys like that who always seem to be in the right place at the right time for a good pass. It's a knack not a lot of big men have. It's one reason he's so valuable on offense. He's not a great scorer, but he's always in the right place at the right time. It does help to have passers who also know when and where the right place and time are.

[Joey]

I think Amir's one of those players that makes it easy to have great chemistry with. I've played with a few guys like that who always seem to be in the right place at the right time for a good pass. It's a knack not a lot of big men have. It's one reason he's so valuable on offense. He's not a great scorer, but he's always in the right place at the right time. It does help to have passers who also know when and where the right place and time are.

It's true. You always hear Leo talking about how Amir and Jose are a very formidable duo on the court, and it's because Amir has great hands around the basket, and always has his head up. Having a guy like Jose who's a sniper with the passes and alley-oops make for certain that they will hook up at least a few times a game. Now with James Johnson who is getting better and better at learning his teammates, is slowly turning into what we brought Turk in here for. Not really for the shooter in him, but to have another facilitator on the floor.

[jeff_hostetler]

Now with James Johnson who is getting better and better at learning his teammates, is slowly turning into what we brought Turk in here for. Not really for the shooter in him, but to have another facilitator on the floor.

I don't know if he's quite there yet, but I hope that's where he's going. The kind of b-ball IQ and court vision required to become a quality point-forward takes time to develop. But it would be great for the team, particularly if Bayless becomes the starting PG.

[ceez]

Agreed

Edit: with joey

[mcHAPPY]

A comparison of Johnson's: James versus Wesley

Wesley 23 (24 in July)
James 24 (turned in February)

James picked #16 in 2009
Wesley picked #5 in 2010

Wesley 6'7" 205lbs
James 6'9" 245lbs

Wesley 26.2MIN .397FG% .3563p% .696FT% 9.0PPG 3.0REB 1.9AST 0.7BLK 0.7STL
James* 28.0MIN .464FG% .2403p% .707FT% 9.2 PPG 4.7REB 3.0AST 1.1BLK 1.0STL

*James TOR stats only.

Given the number of players not declaring, I think that MIA 1st round pick has returned good value.

[Apollo]

That trade for JJ was a home run. It's really tough to get that kind of value in the back end of any draft. The odds are greatly stacked against teams drafting there.

[WJF]

Wesley 23 (24 in July)
James 24 (turned in February)

James picked #16 in 2009
Wesley picked #5 in 2010

Wesley 6'7" 205lbs
James 6'9" 245lbs

Wesley 26.2MIN .397FG% .3563p% .696FT% 9.0PPG 3.0REB 1.9AST 0.7BLK 0.7STL
James* 28.0MIN .464FG% .2403p% .707FT% 9.2 PPG 4.7REB 3.0AST 1.1BLK 1.0STL

*James TOR stats only.

Given the number of players not declaring, I think that MIA 1st round pick has returned good value.

Wes played quite a bit of 2 guard down the stretch for the Volves, I think he will turn onto a nice player once he finds his niche.


Janmes Johnson has been a very good pick up so far, my fear is that he showed well at the end of this year but pulls a Sonny Weems and comes back not showing us anything more (somewhat less). The thing I feel better about is that I was never a Sonny fan and did not really like his game, I have more confidence in James.

[mcHAPPY]

Wes played quite a bit of 2 guard down the stretch for the Volves, I think he will turn onto a nice player once he finds his niche.


Janmes Johnson has been a very good pick up so far, my fear is that he showed well at the end of this year but pulls a Sonny Weems and comes back not showing us anything more (somewhat less). The thing I feel better about is that I was never a Sonny fan and did not really like his game, I have more confidence in James.

Wes probably will become a good player in time - but based on minutes played, age, and statistics the same could be said about James.

The Sonny reference is a good point but I don't think that is an issue. The success James had as a fighter and the training required in combination with his family history and background in fighting makes me think his work ethic is solid.

[Fully]

I can see the similarities between James Johnson and Jamario Moon/Sonny Weems. All three of them got their first real opportunity to show themselves in the league from the Raptors, and they brought a lot of energy and intangibles to the court in return. Unfortunately for Weems/Moon, during their second years they would stray away from what initially made them so valuable in the first place, but I think Johnson has a certain edge that will prevent them him from falling into the same trap.

I think JJ will be a big piece of the puzzle going forward, but I'm not sure his stats will climb much farther than they are now. Ideally, he'd be the shut down and glue guy on a good team but he's never going to blow you away with his numbers. But there are definitely places for guys like him on good teams, and yes, even in the starting line up. I think that JJ's value will actually go up as his teammates improve around him.

[ab7]

James Johnson

For the short time he been with us i can say ...sometimes i think we can develope him to be a solid player.



Does J.J Has the potential to be like a Ron Artest ?
solid scorer with lockdown defender status (stat sheet filler)

[Raptors_]

For the short time he been with us i can say ...sometimes i think we can develope him to be a solid player.



Does J.J Has the potential to be like a Ron Artest ?
solid scorer with lockdown defender status (stat sheet filler)

he has potential to be better. His defensive presence makes him like the thabo sefalosha of the raptors.

[ceez]

He actually reminds me of a young Artest a lot. That's a good thing.

[WJF]

Johnson has better length at the 3 spot and that helps him be a better shot blocker and potential better rebounder. Artest has proven to be a very good perimeter defender, not sure Johnson has shown that yet. Offensively I think he has more to his game than Artest, but defensively he is not as good as Artest was early.

[mcHAPPY]

I see similarities between JJ and Boris Diaw. Similar size, both have guard skills, both are big enough to play physical, both can stuff the stat sheet. JJ is not nearly as polished (yet!) nor does he have as consistent a jumper (yet!). I see him being a starter in the short term and a very important bench player in the long term - much like Amir was this season.