Amir Johnson - Sioux Falls Skyforce Tracker

Here is the dope from NBA.com:

By the way, I actually think it's good for Amir to stay in the D-League. The opportunity to consistently dominate games, and get a taste for it, is important. He'll also get a chance to deal with teams actually game-planning for him - which sounds like something that's starting to happen down there.

From today's Argus Leader:

Would someone tell Blakely to get his out of his _ _ _.
He's a 3 ! Not a 5 !
Heck he's a 3,4,5 if the system is right.

On one side, you have a sportswriter in a distant city expressing irritation with fans who seem overly enthusiastic about a young player. On the other side, you have the coach of the player in question. Hmmm . . . tough call.

maybe blakely was told to downplay his abilities in print o_O ... even mccoskey shorted amir 3 boards and didn't mention the 8 blocks/7 assists when he talked about his game in the paper

The Skyforce lost to the Arkansas RimRockers tonight 123-120.

Amir: 41 minutes, 21 points (9-11 floor, 3-7 line), 11 boards, 5 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal, 5 turnovers, 5 fouls

Will: 30 minutes, 9 points (3-7 field, 3-4 line), 9 assists, 5 boards, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 1 foul

boxscore

Skyforce defeat their next-state rivals, the Wizards, 119-117. Poor game for Amir, who fouled out with 8 points and 8 boards. Will Blalock starred, with lots of clutch shooting at the end for 25 points and 5 assists.

I watched it. It was on at 3pm Eastern I believe, on NBA TV. This was the one where the Wizards beat us on a shot with just a few seconds left in the game. Amir looked great in the first quarter, getting 16. He ended up with, well I don't remember but it was in the 30's. 14 from 14 at the line looked pretty good. After the first quarter, you can imagine, Amir got a whole lot of attention from the other team. For the first half of the game, Nesbitt could score, and Amir, and everyone else missed every shot they took. By the stats, you would think Blalock had a horrid game, but he actually got the ball to one shooter after another for an open shot. Plus, he hit a jumper, then got a steal in the last moments to tie the game back up even though the game was lost in the end. Blalock was almost the hero.

I did not see Amir hit an outside shot. I missed the first few minutes so maybe he hit one then. What impressed me most is how easily he dribbles in all the way from the 3 line for a layup. This guy posts up on the 3 point line, pretty rare thing. Back in the summer league, I saw him routinely dribble in 5 or ten feet to improve his positon for a jumper, but this was way beyond that. He either made every shot or got to the line and made 2 free throws until about midway thru the 3rd quarter. Very impressive decision making. All that double and triple teaming and he never forced a thing.

This is good for Amir. Too bad they didn't send Darko down instead of sitting on the pine for two years. Maybe things would be a little different.

It could have been in his contract, especially as the #2 pick, that he couldn't have been sent down.

In any case, in the contract or not, you make an excellent point.

I watched it too. Amir did hit a baseline jumper, which looked about free throw length.

My general impressions are:

He seems big in the shoulders and I'm not really sure if bulking up further is necessary. He's so damn quick and appears strong enough to get the job done.

His jumping ability is crazy.

His free throw form is great. Nice soft shot with perfect arc.

He is very aggressive on D with the shot blocking. I can imagine a lot of fouls at first in the big leagues before he learns how to go about it. In the D-League, it doesn't matter, because he is so physically superior that he gets away with it.

He seemed to have incredible footwork for his size and lack of experience. In traffic he avoided traveling and was good with the pump fakes, etc.


He is like Dupree X 2 with a lot more size and a better jumper.



If I were the Phoenix Suns... or any other fast paced team, I would probably take a monetary gamble and try to steal him.

Didn't see the game... this is confusince seeing
Lee & Laniers reports being opposites... Tashawn kinda supports Lee with his perspective... Lanier has always been level and fair... so what's the real deal on Amir's game against the Wizz?

Different games. Lee was talking about the taped game on NBA TV, while I was talking about last night's game against the same team.

Willy B unbelieveable.

No, it wasn't in his contract. There was no D-league affiliate program in place for Darko's freshman and sophmore years; no way to send Darko down for minor league game experience while keeping him on the team for the season. I believe that Larry Brown lamented that very fact as something that hurt Darko relative to young players starting a year or two later.

I can't help but wonder how Darko would've done if that'd been an option. I feel like it could have made an enormous difference in his career, and he might even still be with us (as if we didn't have enough power forwards).