Blame it on Flip and Arne for not playing Amir 39 minutes. Flip didn't believe in him and the vets never got hurt... Then blame it on Amir who could not play more than 3.9 minites without getting two fouls.
I don't know where JJ will level off but the Pistons have never had a game from Amir like JJ's against Philly. In the first half, he looked like a lost rookie. I have seen that look with Amir many times, too many times. In the second half, he did things I doubt Amir can do. I wish Amir and Afflalo, who is a UCLA guy, my alma mater, the best. But I don't think that the Pistons lost any great player by not having them on the squad. Or that in letting them go, that is proof that Joe doesn't know what he is doing. And who knows, Maxiel just hit three jumpers in a row. Amir may develop some more. Never write a guy off. On the other hand, this is the first time since Tay, that Piston rookies actually show skills that could project into top players, Stuckey aside. And I think the Piston fans on this board see the same thing and that is why the vote is so lop-sided.
JJ plays hard, does the little things, and isn't intimidated by the refs or veterans. Amir always seem to be a little tentative out there. I have no doubt a guy like JJ would rot through the bench of a Flip Saunders.
The jumpers were looking nice there in the 4th... and in crunch time too. JJ made a ton of mistakes this game as someone mentioned, but he was allowed to play through them and redeemed himself nicely. Overall, he was a huge net positive out there with the rebounding + tap outs and the mix of garbage buckets and open jumpers. The mistakes were mainly taking weak FGA's with obvious shot blockers in his vicinity and 4 turnovers, including an awkward carry with the game on the line. But this is the kind of game that rookies need to be able to have. He appears to be very focused on the court and his mistakes aren't dumb mistakes.
For every mistake JJ makes, he makes it up for it with two good plays. If he would have made the mistake in Flip's world, he would have never got the chance to go back in to make the two good plays. There are things he does that wants me to yell and curse the at the TV....like throwing up a crazy shot under the hoop, not finishing a hoop or passing up a jumper and passing it to Ben of all people. Then he all of sudden he is shooting when he is open, grabbing the rebound or making the nice steal. Once he can do all of these things consistently with only minimal mistakes he will be the designated starter and Tay will be his backup.
I still like JJ starting at PF and backing up Tay at SF, while we develop Austin Daye. It'd be real nice if we could move Rip and Max ($16M) for an expiring contract and/or a 1st rd pick.
Good point... he may have also been bench fodder for coach Q if not for Tay going south. Would like to see Summers get a fair shake also. CV is a definate liability on defense... his foot speed looks like he 35 years old.
Well they have been put in completely different situations. Being on a rebuilding team with our two best players injured and our best big man being a 35 year old Ben Wallace is much different from being on a team behind Tayshaun, McDyess, Rasheed, Ben, etc. during our championship days. I can't tell yet, but Jerebko looks promising so far.
Young guys got plenty of burn during the last 2 years of Flip. Especially in the last year, that was the theme that year - rest the starters for the PO's and develop the young guys. They did not play like they are now but they did play. Problem was - Amir was not catching on. Maxiel played, Stuckey did , AA did.
ill go for jonas I guess he is a better basketball player compared to a ballet dancer name Amir Johnson....
I dont think there is any coincidence that both Amare and Bosh's contracts add up nicely with a package deal of Rip and Max...Unfortunately I dont see Phoenix with any interest in either one of those players. Unless they could swing some sort of three team deal that would move Jason Richardson (why would they, he's been playing great in Phoenix, and rely more on Barbosa off the bench) for a package of youth.
Re: "Big Picture" Post-Draft Thoughts: The Swede will be the SF that will eventually back up or replace Tay. I believe he made be the best out of all 4 picks
Updated comparison (per 36 min). Amir has been surging lately. Stat: Amir/ Jonas Pts: 11.1/ 10.1 Reb: 10.1/ 6.9 Ast: 1.0/ 0.9 Stl: 1.0/ 0.9 Blk: 1.5/ 0.4 PF: 6.7/ 4.0 3PAB: 0.0/ 2.5* Jonas now trails in every single statistical category, except for foul avoidance (where I am tied for the lead at zero fouls). However, a typical measure for shot blockers looks at the ratio between shot blocks and fouls, similar to the assist to turnover ratio for PG's. In this ratio, Amir is able to block more shots per foul committed by a 2.2 to 1 measure over JJ. In that sense, he give more defensive production and does it cleaner. In the NBA, when looking at Power Forwards, Amir ranks as follows: 2nd in FG% 10th in rebounds per minute (behind Kevin Love, Camby, Gasol, Bosh, Scola, Boozer, Randolph, Gooden, and Humphries) *3PAB= Three Point Air Balls
Sorry, screwed up two of the stats by looking at career vs. 2010 by accident. Amir's assists should be 0.7 and his steals 1.3 instead of 1.0 and 1.0. This means that on the year, Jerebko is superior in the assist category.
The 36 minutes thing is arbitrary. I'm just using it because it shows their rates and it is easily available. It's not really realistic for Jonas either since he has ony played that amount of playing time 4 times in his career. Amir has played over 36 minutes 2 times (14 rebounds and 12 rebounds in those 2 games). And keep in mind that the main reason JJ is getting the mintues is because he is on a losing team with half of the roster injured. It's not necessarily because he is a super effective stud... although he has been playing nicely IMO. If Tay was healthy and getting his typical 40 mpg and the Pistons would have nabbed Chris Bosh instead of loading up on shooting guards, Jerebko would not be getting more than 10 mpg. If you tried to project out his usefulness here, you would face a lot of resistance. Even with Amir's fouling rate, he could average more minutes per game that Jerebko is currently averaging. That is why I don't think the fouling out thing is a big deal.
