Thought I would prefer AJ, I think is Dyess is suspended Nazr will be the man. Who knows its long past Ramadan so Nazr should be strong and in shape.
I would imagine Flip will just stick to the script minus Dyess. Heavy mins for Maxiel so that can be a good thing.
Realistically, Cavs have no one to stop Amir near the basket. He could be our x-factor. But Flip just won't do it. JMax is solid, but he's not going to win us a game.
I don't think Maxi is really capable of being efficient over long stints. After his initial spurt of scoring he didn't do much at all. He is IMO best utilized with limited minutes, unless of course he is on fire on a given day.
He's not had enough playing time. He's not used to game situations. He's not used to playing long stretches. He's not used to playing big minutes. He's not an option on the offense. He doesn't get any respect from the refs because of all the above. DEVELOP THE YOUNGSTERS ON THIS TEAM, PLEASE!!!
Who on the cavs is going to stop amir? Z is too slow, Gooden is too small, and Varejao is too suck. No way Varejao outjumps or outhustles Amir for all those rebounds. Unleash him. Set him free. He's not even a rookie like Gibson, he's a 2nd year player.
The way I see it, the only guy on the team that will pass to him in the second half is Rasheed, and since he doesn't handle the ball a lot, that doesn't help. In the second half of these playoff games, the starter get tunnel vision, the role players rarely touch the ball. Maxiell is a part of that group. Hence, it appears as though he "disappears", when in reality, he just gets very few opportunities.
Is Amir ready to start backing up Tay? At his weight and strength he is currently more of a SF than a PF/C IMO. Going into the offseason would the SF position be secure with this assumption?
Stop this nonsense. I suppose that you would play Garnett at small forward too!!! Amir is listed at 6'9" - 210lbs. That was a year ago. He just turned 20 5 weeks ago so I would think that he is a little taller and a little heavier Amir Johnson Statistics - Basketball-Reference.com Garnett is listed at 6'11 - 220lbs Kevin Garnett Statistics - Basketball-Reference.com
What evidence have you seen that says Amir can handle the banging of bigger players in the low post? Any comparison to KG is way too premature at best. KG, even though he has not won anything, is a freak of nature. Players like that come along only once in a while. Amir may have the potential but at this stage it's just potential. I am as excited at the prospect of seeing him play consistent minutes, as any one of you guys/gals, but am not ready to annoint him as anything but a work-in-progress. I also readily admit that I have seen nothing of him besides what he played in a Piston uniform and NBDL/summer league reports. I agree that you can't teach size but you also cannot teach attitude. You can be 7'0" tall and player a small man's game or vice versa. Not a commentary on Amir, but size alone doesn't define a player's ability to handle a certain position.
It looked like Amir has skills and desire to learn. What position he plays can be defined further down the road when his body is fully developed. But he needs minutes to develop, he won't get anywhere in the suit.
I'm not going to come in here and say that Amir is going to lead the Pistons back to the promised land, but if you're looking at potential game changers and franchise talentes, then Amir has to be at the top of the list. Right now, I see Amir as an inside-out 4. He can knock down an open three ball, but he doesn't really have the handle or consistent jumper to play many minutes at the 3. He does look like he has the athleticism to guard some SFs one on one. He has a nice little jumphook that he should be able to get off regularly against NBA bigs. He needs to add a counter top his jump hook, but the hook is solid. He has a nice inside pivot that he uses to face up and attack opposing bigs, and he really finishes at the hoop. Also, the kid runs like a Gazelle. He should be able to get two or three easy transition baskets per game. Next year, Sheed will still be our main big, but Amir should be looking at 15-20 minutes a night. He has Franchise Big Man potential.
A major division within the coaching staff, or the coaching staff and the front office are divided. Sounds like the latter with Flip biting his tongue to keep his job right now. This sounds like something we will hear a lot more about next season...
Well, by the looks of it coaching staff (read Flip) doesn't appear to trust Joe's assessment of players. And that is not necessarily good news.
I think the coaching staff is unaccustomed to Joe's projects. Amir is a lottery pick equivalent...not some mad breakout veteran. Outside of Durant and Oden, no one is expected to have big impacts immediately. If Amir were to have come out this year, he would still be projected to be a major factor a few years down the road not so much this year. However, you have a coaching staff that understands that you develop your game at the collegiate level and then polish it at the pro. They've seen him around for two years and they are expecting a 2nd year pro. Joe is expecting a project groomed in the D-league. Its outside of the box thinking. I don't think the coaching staff has that perspective.
After thinking about McCosky's snippet, I can see that being part of the conspiracy theory in trying to hold down Amir's apparent value before signing.
