James Johnson Discussion

[Superjudge]

don't listen to that guy.... he's crazy.

Johnson has to shoot it when the shot is the right one. And he does. You're completely right in pointing out that players need to keep defences honest. The key however is not forcing shots, staying patient, and taking what the game, and you PG/mates give you. Otherwise yes, JJ's strongest value is when he is attacking. But ya gotta open up the attack sometimes.

[raptors999]

so only the first two options should be shooting? I don't understand. If he's making shots that means he's taking them which means he has thoughts of shooting. Also if he completely stopped taking that shot then trust me guys would completely stop guarding him on the perimeter.

If two shooters are positioned outside he should have lanes to attack. If Ross is in the Corner and Lowry at the top or at the wing then he has an opening if he can beat his man. If 2Pats is in the opposite corner than that only leaves the Center in the paint. Same for Demar. 4 shooters only works with a dominant C passing out. With 3 shooters the interior is open.

[raptors999]

If two shooters are positioned outside he should have lanes to attack. If Ross is in the Corner and Lowry at the top or at the wing then he has an opening if he can beat his man. If 2Pats is in the opposite corner than that only leaves the Center in the paint. Same for Demar. 4 shooters only works with a dominant C passing out. With 3 shooters the interior is open.

This is how Mavs will incorporate Rondo. 4 shooters is too many.

[ogi]

If two shooters are positioned outside he should have lanes to attack. If Ross is in the Corner and Lowry at the top or at the wing then he has an opening if he can beat his man. If 2Pats is in the opposite corner than that only leaves the Center in the paint. Same for Demar. 4 shooters only works with a dominant C passing out. With 3 shooters the interior is open.

right but if you have players that are capable of doing both things well then you're in an even better position. The whole point is JJ developing a three point shot doesn't mean that he's going to lose his ability to attack the lane, and it also makes guarding him a more difficult task.

[stooley]

This is how Mavs will incorporate Rondo. 4 shooters is too many.

Could you imagine having a team with Curry, Thompson AND Durant on the same team. They'd be brutal! Too much shooting.

[raptors999]

Could you imagine having a team with Curry, Thompson AND Durant on the same team. They'd be brutal! Too much shooting.

It would be too much. Spurs always use a guy who can also penetrate. If GSW had Curry, Thompson, Korver and Durant, one will be open for layups. A 40% 3pt shooter is worse than a 50+ fg% if you consider free throws

[stooley]

Practice wraps up and James Johnson goes to put some extra work in with Bayno, working on his three. Casey catches him just in time, "Jesus Christ JJ, wtf do you think you're doing?! You're supposed to be a professional!"

He tries it a couple days later and gets suspended for the road trip.

[raptors999]

Practice wraps up and James Johnson goes to put some extra work in with Bayno, working on his three. Casey catches him just in time, "Jesus Christ JJ, wtf do you think you're doing?! You're supposed to be a professional!"

He tries it a couple days later and gets suspended for the road trip.

Wasn't the whole point that JJ limits himself and not try to do everything. The more tools you take away and the simpler you make his role the better he is.

[stooley]

Wasn't the whole point that JJ limits himself and not try to do everything. The more tools you take away and the simpler you make his role the better he is.

Noone's asking for his role to change. That's what you've repeatedly missed in this conversation.

[raptors999]

Noone's asking for his role to change. That's what you've repeatedly missed in this conversation.

They conversation was started about him developing a corner three. Sometimes developing a perimeter game changes players. If Bosh didn't develop the corner three he would be better, Ibaka had to since he doesn't have an interior game. Love shoots too much considering how good he is in the low post and rebounding.

[Raptorsnz]

They conversation was started about him developing a corner three. Sometimes developing a perimeter game changes players. If Bosh didn't develop the corner three he would be better, Ibaka had to since he doesn't have an interior game. Love shoots too much considering how good he is in the low post and rebounding.

Bosh helped out the Heat so much by getting a 3 point shot, it's a big reason why they won 2 championships.

[stooley]

They conversation was started about him developing a corner three. Sometimes developing a perimeter game changes players. If Bosh didn't develop the corner three he would be better, Ibaka had to since he doesn't have an interior game. Love shoots too much considering how good he is in the low post and rebounding.

Yes, you're right, it sometimes does change a player. But I bet I could point to a lot more guys who would be WORSE without a 3 pointer than guys who would be BETTER without one.

AND the Toronto Raptors have a coach. A coach is supposed to tell players their roles and how to behave on court.

There is a possibility that JJ starts shooting a ton of threes and never driving, but I'm not sure the chances of that are much higher than his current chances to start playing iso ball on every play.

There's a huge difference between adding a 3 to your game and relying on one. It's kind of silly how hard you're pushing this.

[CalgaryRapsFan]

They conversation was started about him developing a corner three. Sometimes developing a perimeter game changes players. If Bosh didn't develop the corner three he would be better, Ibaka had to since he doesn't have an interior game. Love shoots too much considering how good he is in the low post and rebounding.

Most of that is dependent on the coaching strategy. It's like when Bargnani was here and people complained that he took too many 3's instead of posting-up... if he wasn't doing that by design, he would've been benched. The coach dictates how/where players play - the suggestion going on is that JJ improve the weakest area of things he's already expected to do.

I would understand your point if somebody was on here suggesting that JV forego practicing his post-up game in favor of working on his 3pt shot. JJ, however, is a wing player and often gets placed in the corner, with an expectation of being able to knock down an occasional open 3pt shot - why would you NOT want him to be able to do that more efficiently?

[raptors999]

Most of that is dependent on the coaching strategy. It's like when Bargnani was here and people complained that he took too many 3's instead of posting-up... if he wasn't doing that by design, he would've been benched. The coach dictates how/where players play - the suggestion going on is that JJ improve the weakest area of things he's already expected to do.

I would understand your point if somebody was on here suggesting that JV forego practicing his post-up game in favor of working on his 3pt shot. JJ, however, is a wing player and often gets placed in the corner, with an expectation of being able to knock down an occasional open 3pt shot - why would you NOT want him to be able to do that more efficiently?

Because he can't. PPat isn't a good post up player and TRoss doesn't go into the paint. Either a player can shoot or he can't and expecting him to shoot when he is ablke to drive isn't a good idea. Vince Carter began settling for jumpshots even though he was still capable of driving. TH trying to develop a three point shot while he is still a capable low post scorer isn't a good idea. When JJ is 30 and trying to find a roster spot he can develop a shot like Vince right now he needs to get into the paint, rebound and defend and forget about shooting entirely.

[octothorp]

Because he can't. PPat isn't a good post up player and TRoss doesn't go into the paint. Either a player can shoot or he can't and expecting him to shoot when he is ablke to drive isn't a good idea. Vince Carter began settling for jumpshots even though he was still capable of driving. TH trying to develop a three point shot while he is still a capable low post scorer isn't a good idea. When JJ is 30 and trying to find a roster spot he can develop a shot like Vince right now he needs to get into the paint, rebound and defend and forget about shooting entirely.

So are you saying that PPat shouldn't work on his post-up game, or Ross shouldn't work on going into the paint? I hope you aren't, because that would be really bizarre and I wouldn't know how to respond. The truth is, you want Patterson to improve his post-up game, so that if a team switches a smaller, mobile perimeter defender onto him, you can take advantage of that and have him post the guy up; you want Ross develop a good driving game so that he can punish guys who get up on him and try to force him off the line. In short, you want to take away an opponent's options in terms of how they shut down your best skills.

The key in developing the offensive skills of players is finding what they're good at, and then finding complementary skills that allow you to maximize what they're good at. For a guy who's great at getting the ball at the 3-point line and driving, a decent 3-point shot is the ultimate complementary skill. Johnson has been playing great for us this year, but on offence he's still a bit one-dimensional in terms of what he's doing within the flow of the offence. And one-dimensional players get shut down in the playoffs, because they're predictable and easy to scout. Opposing coaches will force Johnson into shooting situations, and when they do, his effectiveness is going to be determined in part by how much he is allowed to work on that role in the regular season.