Terry Foster of the Detroit News and Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press have each made a case recently for Amir Johnson to be given a chance to start. In my latest article from HOOPSWORLD, I asked Johnson what he thought about all of this:
Some players might not know how to handle that kind of sudden attention, but Johnson appears to be taking his rise from obscurity in stride. "In the beginning of the year I hurt my ankle. I'm just starting to get into the rotation a little bit, so I'm doing pretty good right now," he said. "I'm just taking one step at a time."
And for now, the next step involves learning how to avoid foul trouble and being part of a playoff rotation for the first time in his career, not leapfrogging McDyess into the starting lineup. "I just feel like we're doing a good job right now," he said. "It doesn't really matter who starts, as long as we get the win. Nothing really matters as long as we do good in the playoffs."