Comments on: Amir Johnson now realizes how productive he is

By: Kyle

Kyle — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:13:49 +0000

my father and i were just discussing using max more at the 3. let him take more jump shots, plus that distance gives him the room he needs to get a bit of a running start on rebounds. rumors are that amir has a jump shot, but i’ve yet to see it in a real game. he’s got a sweet hook though, that i’ve seen several times. i’m confused as to why the team hasn’t tried to develope maxiell’s jumper into the offense, when he’s in rhythm he’s almost as deadly as rip.

By: Aaron N

Aaron N — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:17:25 +0000

One thing about Amir i have thought a lot about (and maybe this is irrelevant) is whether or not he can play alongside Maxiell. Could Amir become a SF/PF, and play a bit more on the wing?

By: Kyle

Kyle — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:58:56 +0000

Garrett: I still don’t, and probably never will understand this “he looks lost” argument for keeping Amir on the bench. Look at the Game Logs for Jan and Feb. Notice that even when he was getting his most minutes (15.2 per game in Jan) he was still shooting 65% from the field and only averaged 0.8 TO’s.

or how about march, when he averaged 20.6 minutes per game, shot 56% and averaged 0.6 turnovers per game.

If your argument against him is the look on his face, then you don’t have much of an argument. especially when there is nothing in the numbers to back them up. you sound like what I imagine Flip told himself to keep Amir on the bench. He’s not a vet, He’s not Sheed, he hasn’t been in every situation a million times before. The fact that he still produces and does things Sheed can’t is irrelevant.

By: Quick Darshan

Quick Darshan — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 06:54:51 +0000

It was that 8-8 game (2-2 3pt., 4-4 ft.) that got everyone so excited.

He’s going to get thrown into the deep end next year the same way Stuckey was this year.

By: Mike Payne

Mike Payne — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 06:30:44 +0000

@JackDutch:

Toward the end of the season, I saw several jump shots from Amir. Clank, clunk, clank. Check out his NBA hot spots for the 07-08 regular season:
http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/7599/amirjohnsonhotspotspaynit8.jpg

Take this with a chunk of salt, however– I’m certain I saw all 8 of Amir’s shots that were adjacent to the free throw line. His mechanics were healthy, his shots were decent, and I felt from watching that his confidence was shakey, thus so were his shots. 8 more, and I think he’d have made 4+ of these. I really don’t have data to back this up, so I need to disclaim that. But my gut suggested it is a confidence issue. Why?

Those were the first 8 jumpers he’s taken from those spots in his NBA career.

Also noteworthy, something I had forgotten above. Amir was a 66.7% three point shooter his rookie year. He went 2 for 3 in the last two games of the 2005-06 season:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3982/gamelog;_ylt=AogVxgJpLWmOS.Mr7lZHnqekvLYF?year=2005

By: JackDutch

JackDutch — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 04:38:09 +0000

i don’t know who told amir to stop shooting from the outside but he was shockingly solid in the nbdl. maybe he had a lot more open looks there and no one to pull the reins, but i would assume he could get those looks as people play off him to help on dribble drives or from double teams. who told him he could only take 3 foot hook shots? i can’t recall him taking a jump shot all season. seems silly.

By: kevin s.

kevin s. — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:45:01 +0000

“If not, he was the most productive player in the league by the numbers at one point, but he was never really that good or played a ton, so that tells you very little about Amir at this point.”

How do you know he wasn’t really that good? When he played he was extremely effective, once averaging 19 ppg in 27 minutes. The whole purpose of utilizing statistics is to look beyond player reputation. In Gatling’s case, injuries were a factor, but that isn’t the fault of stat geeks.

By: Nate

Nate — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:41:17 +0000

Seriously, a year from now I bet we’ll be looking at Flip’s using Ratliff over Amir in the 4th quarter of Game 6 as a fireable offense by itself.

It is mind-boggling to me that, given our woes on the glass, we didn’t think to use this guy with crazy hops and a superlong wingspan for even a few minutes here and there against Boston.

By: Matt Watson

Matt Watson — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:58:10 +0000

Amir just finished Year 1 of a three-year deal signed last summer, so there will be no splitting until at least the summer of 2010.

By: ohad

ohad — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:15:07 +0000

“Consider him Detroit’s secret weapon. So secret, in fact, the coaching staff hasn’t even figured out how valuable he is. Oh well, there’s always next year. ”

Ain’t no more next year. we have to play amir this year or he’ll split (if his contract alows it)

By: Quick Darshan

Quick Darshan — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 07:30:25 +0000

I think that Amir will get a ton of minutes even if Sheed stays. If the roster doesn’t change I really wouldn’t be surprised to see about 24 minutes each for Sheed, Dyess, Max and Amir.

By: Laughton

Laughton — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 06:52:50 +0000

Amir should get his chance next season, if JMax moves up to start like he should. 20-30 minutes a game should let us get a real taste of what the kid can do. If Sheed stays then that probably changes, but I would like to see the kid get some meaningful minutes.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 04:00:08 +0000

Amir has a lot of offensive moves. I have seen him make them. Flip just wouldn’t let Amir shoot anything except a baby hook in the lane and a layup or dunk on a give and go.

Amir is actually a pretty good 3 point shooter. (No not another Sheed).

He has a very good mid range jump shot.

He has enough ability to become a 20 - 10 guy if the Pistons let him loose. He can average 20 + game and do it shooting over 50%.

However it is his defense and rebounding that will help us win as much as anything.

By: LawyerBoy

LawyerBoy — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 04:00:04 +0000

OT: FINALLY the NBA calls an offensive foul on one of Garnett’s constantly illegal screens. It only took them until 21.1 seconds left in the 4th quarter of the 3rd game of the NBA Finals. About damn time. Kudos to Mark Jackson for calling Garnett out on his cheating throughout the course of the whole game. I’m anxiously awaiting Laimbeer’s in-studio appearance on the local ABC affiliate wrap-up show here in LA.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 03:50:04 +0000

@Garrett:
Also, keep in mind that Flip never really ran plays for Amir. Amir’s primary job on the court was seemingly unscripted– just post/man defense and offensive sweep-ups, like tip-ins, put-backs and offensive boards.>>

Amir was also used to set a lot of high screens on offense. This was by design