JaJuan Some More? Johnson Gets Career High Points
by Jeff Clark on Feb 1, 2012 11:08 PM EST
in Boston Celtics News & Links
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For the first time since preseason, we've got some reason to talk about JaJuan Johnson. It was just garbage time, but it was nice to see him hit all 5 shots he took. So what did you think? How did he look?
If you are foggy on what his scouting report is, see the following from our SBNation player profile page (you know, those links that show up on each player's name in a post here - click them every once in a while - they can be insightful). This evaluation may be pulled from his college days but it should still be useful.
Assets: A dominant shot-blocker when on his game. Uncommonly mobile for a big man, and able to run the floor like a small forward. An explosive leaper with a huge wingspan. Has developed a solid outside shooting stroke and fairly consistent free-throw shooting.
Flaws: Significantly needs to add bulk to put up with the physical play in the NBA post. Needs to round out his offensive approach and develop more kick-out passing skills.
Career Potential: Athletic shot-blocking big man.
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I'd play him over Wilcox
Only when smaller guys are out there though. Like say if we play the Mavs and they have Dirk at center and LO at PF I’d throw him in there with Bass or something. Only those games though cause we need to give him minutes.
"Victory belongs to the most Preserving" - Napoleon
by RotB_MattR on Feb 1, 2012 11:16 PM EST via mobile reply actions
I saw him in college
he was a best on both ends. SOme confidence and time in the league, he’s gonna be a star
Just an early prediction
But I really can see this kid being valuable playoff time. I can just see us against Miami and Kg having a bad series then Doc using JJJ off the bench and scoring on them and everyone around the league saying who the hell is this? Kinda like a Leon Powe in 08 but you can tell early Johnson definitely has a much better offensive game
by OFWG1554 on Feb 1, 2012 11:22 PM EST via mobile reply actions
If JJJ has Perkins' or DH12's body, he can bang with any big man in the NBA
Get him a nitritionist and a strength trainer.
dwight is two inches shorter and has the best build of anyone in the league
soooo yeah pretty much any post player with his build would be amazing. he needs to add fat not muscle he has plenty of muscle
by JuJuan some moore on Feb 2, 2012 12:21 AM EST up reply actions
Maybe a little fat but why would anyone recommend
Adding fat over muscle for any purpose?
Jesus Shuttlesworth: I hate my name. What kind of name is Jesus anyway?
Jake Shuttlesworth: It's biblical.
Jesus Shuttlesworth: Yeah, no kidding.
by jakeshuttlesworth on Feb 2, 2012 1:37 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
because you can add fat a lot faster
plus thats padding you dont get a fat bruise (i dont think)
by JuJuan some moore on Feb 2, 2012 3:39 AM EST up reply actions
I was at the game
And turned to my companion after his 2nd or 3rd hoop and said “Oh no, CelticsBlog will be lit up tonight with comments about how he should be playing more, Doc doesn’t know what he is doing, etc.”. It was garbage time long before he got in and was outright refuse time when he did. I will admit he made some nice plays and showed some encouraging signs for his long term future, but nothing can be determined about playing him this year from this game.
He was able to play loose and easy, no pressure, no must stops, no have to hoops, the whole game was like pickup at that point. The Raptors 3rd string had no motive or incentive to offer any resistance. Again, he did show some promise that he can play in the league, but nothing can be concluded about him deserving more minutes on a nightl basis. It simply was not a game that that could be judged. I am optimistic that he can play and has some NBA skills, but the cries for him to get more time are far too hasty if this game is the criteria.
by KJ33 on Feb 1, 2012 11:29 PM EST via mobile reply actions
I agree.
His potential is a given.. . that’s why he’s in the roster in the first place. The reality is… besides being a rookie, his position as forward doesn’t really give him a favorable spot in the rotation in a pressure type situation.
At the very least, he's gained the right to prove himself
It’s not like Wilcox and Stiemsma are so good that you can’t sit them. Jajuan’s mid range jumper alone is valuable for this team and all he needs to do is to be an energy guy off the bench and hold his own.he has the skills to do that and be effective.
In conclusion
Play JaJuan!!! (and I’ve actually been saying this for a while; let him play and develop, just like Moore and Bradley).
That may be true
About what he could bring to the table, but tonight’s game earned him nothing. He simply showed that the scouting reports on his game were pretty accurate. It will take a lot more, in more challenging situations, to prove he should supplant Bass, KG, JO or Wilcox in the rotation. JJJ is a victim of the #s game, just like Moore or Bradley will be when Rondo and Dooling come back. It won’t mean they can’t play, it’s just that only so many guys can be in a regular rotation and vets have a more long term track record of showing they can contribute in the league.
by KJ33 on Feb 1, 2012 11:52 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I'm not saying make him a starter or give him 20mpg
But I do think he can take Wilcox’s minutes! Even Doc praised him tonight and said that he’s shown improvement at practice and that he could play soon.
a lot of guys on this team can hit mid-range jumpers!
very few can bang like Wilcox and Bass do. Reducing Wilcox’s minutes softens us up even more
Wilcox is underrated.
Garbage minutes and practice are ok for Johnson right now. Wilcox is bringing muscle down low and doing really good dirty work for us… Johnson isn’t ready to do that. Let’s get him to the point where he can come in for Bass against actual competition, hit some nice turnaround jumpers, and not get blown up on D before we try to swap him in for man work.
Stiemsma is a 5
JJ is a PF. They don’t compete for playing time. Wilcox is a 4/5, but is mostly at the 5 for us.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.
by mmmmm on Feb 2, 2012 7:12 AM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
But Stiemsma doesn't swing to 4 at all.
And Wilcox has played only a little at the 4.
JJ is only playing at the 4.
So no, JJ is not competing with Stiemsma for minutes and he’s only competing slightly with Wilcox.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.
Food for thought
With his current lack of strength and weight, why doesn’t doc try using him at small forward to see what happens? He’s got that “durant” type of build, I remember KG played a year or two at SF when he first started as well. I think he would be a decent player at that position
About Johnson at SF....
This is something I wonder about as well. He does seen to have that “tweener” build. Although he is listed at 6’10", watching him play, there is no way he is 6’10". I’d guess 6’9". Couple that with his slight frame, and I think he may have a hard time being a successful PF. Not saying he can’t, but he is going to have to develope some special skills to do so.
Now, watching him play, it seems his style is that of a PF. This would stand to reason, as I’m sure he has played either PF or C his whole life due to his height. To change his position now is not impossible, but he would have to learn an entirely new skill set.
As far as him having any ability to play SF, there are a couple things to look at. Speed, agility, shooting, and quick hands. He does seem to have a good outside shot, and good hands. He has a decent face-up game as well, but that is as a PF. Going against other SF’s would be different.
Ultimately, I think the question would be at what position is most likely to succeed. Given that he has always been a PF, it would probably be more likely he would be more successful there. But if he possess the talent to play SF (at this point an unknown), he may be better off there based on his size. Hopefully the coaching staff chooses the right path, because it does seem Johnson has the talent to
play in this league.
" Hell yeah I'm trying to gain an advantage out here. If you can't handle it, get off the court."- Kevin Garnett
"Stats are for losers."- Rahim Morris (FORMERLY-Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
by KG's Knee on Feb 2, 2012 1:42 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
maybe he looks like a SF, but he doesn't play like one
His best offensive skills are his back-to-the-basket scoring and his mid-range jumper. He’s also very good at screening and then rolling hard to the basket. On defense, he has quick feet and great reach. Basically, he’s modeled after Garnett.
Unless we’re doing a lot of isolation or 2-man game, that’s not going to fly at small forward. He hasn’t shown himself to be a ball handler or a passer in college. I’ve never seen him face up or try to move the ball on the dribble.
This is a great situation for him. He’s modeled after Garnett and he has Garnett with him in the gym every day. Be happy that we have a developing PF with some upside. Don’t dream about cramming him into a role that doesn’t fit.
I agree. His game is very much 'stretch PF'
His style of game resembles KG more than any other player. If he was an inch taller, he’d be a clone of a young KG. He has that same mid-range jumper and he has that nice post-up & spin from about 6 feet.
I can see him playing as the ‘small’ in a three-big lineup at times. But he’d still be playing more as an extra PF – kinda like Lamar Odom when the Lakers would go Bynum-Gasol-Odom.
But his skills don’t really resemble a classic SF like Pierce, Anthony, Durant, etc.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.
I am not worried about his 'slight frame'
If you go back and check the numbers, JJ’s weight is not much different from many big name PFs back when they were his age: KG, Bosch, Amare, etc.
It is very natural for most young men to put on more muscle mass up into their mid-late 20s. So he’ll probably add another 10-15 lb over the next 2-3 years and that would get him close to 245-255 – plenty big enough to hold the block on defense.
And the truth is, he is already very strong for his weight. He did extremely well on all the strength tests at the combine and he has amazing vertical skills. In college he often had to play center as well as PF against much heavier players – and he was still a dominant defensive player.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.
kg pleaseeeeee......
feign an injury so that doc is forced to use bass/jjj combination…..
by celticsfaninsudan on Feb 2, 2012 12:01 AM EST reply actions
it is past its expiration date.....
isn’t that supposed to be in january? or the lockout has eaten it lol…….
by celticsfaninsudan on Feb 2, 2012 12:32 AM EST up reply actions
This is prophetic
You are totally right. When KG’s injury comes, you are going to see Johnson thrust in the same way Bradley got thrust in with Rondo out. When that does happen, Johnson will be playing a role tailored to his skills- it will be a great situation for him. Hopefully we get that dream scenario where Johnson comes in for injured KG and blossoms, taking pressure off of KGs rehab while cultivating Johnson’s emergence
Please excuse me if I disagree strongly.
There is no upside to KG getting injured. He is still by far the most important and valuable part of our defense. If we lost KG for the season, forget it. At that point we SHOULD tank it and try for the lottery.
If you really want JJ to get playing time due to injury, it would be far less damaging to this team if it were Bass. But even there, I don’t see any upside to it.
As much as I like seeing Bradley and Moore get playing time, I would much, much rather have a fully healthy Rondo.
Never, ever wish for injuries to your own team. It is bad, bad karma.
The best thing to wish for is for more and more blow-outs – that’s the best way to get playing time for the kids.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.
JJJ doesn't need to bulk up
Didn’t Carrot Top go for 20/20 on us last game? All you need in this league is a hunger to play, and a passion to perform. I am sure JJJ can box out and leap just as good (if not better) than some of our vets. He’s gonna be a factor no matter what he weighs, so play him more Doc!
AJ has about 40 pounds on 3J right now--
he’s listed at 260.
But I believe 3J is a player.
Hahaha hilarious MP-3!
“The crowd around the rookie’s locker intrigued Mickael Pietrus, so the veteran swingman detoured on his way to the showers and popped his head through the crowd to get a listen at what JaJuan Johnson had to say.
Finally, during a lull in the questioning, Pietrus, the team’s resident chops-buster offered, “Whenever you’re done with the media, let’s keep it real — get me some water.”
http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4689200/johnson-making-case-for-a-rookie-role
Looks like a talented scorer
He needs to add some body strength but if he develops a Celtics mentality then I see no reason why he can’t be a winner at this level down the road.
Jajuan should still come off the bench behind behind Wilcox/Stiemsma BUT...
Doc should start giving him regular minutes, 5 here or there every other game just like he was doing with Avery Bradley and E’twuan prior to Rondo being injured.
I really believe in this kid’s potential, he’s not KG but his skill set is still very reminiscent. At the very least. Doc should play Jajuan more minutes just to get a sense of what he’s capable of. Athletic 7’ players who can shoot and defend don’t come along every day. Who knows – maybe he can be the franchise PF to take KG’s place moving forward. It’s definitely worth playing him now to start getting a sense of what he can do.
7' is a bit of a reach. He measured out at 6'9" without shoes.
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/JaJuan-Johnson-5307/
But I would be interested to see a few more minutes here and there.
As per NBA custom, he’ll wear shoes when he’s playing
KG is only 6’11 so he’s not technically a 7 footer either, but does that really put him at a disadvantage guarding players who are 7 foot and 1/2 inches? People used to refer to Lamar Odom as one of the 3 7-footers on the Lakers even though he’s only 6’10’’.
The only point I’m making is that with a huge wingspan at 6’10, the extra two inches he’d be giving up to literally 7’ and-not-an-inch-less players is fairly negligible.
Also, I’m saying that when a player is 6’10 and up they almost always have trouble making free throws or have no jump shot or if you’re Andrea Bargnani, they can shoot but don’t want to play a physical game in the post. The fact that Jajuan doesn’t have any of these issues and is tall enough to play with 7’ strictly defined players and not be at a significant disadvantage height-wise makes him a unique talent.
He's not really behind Wilcox/Stiemsma
JJ is behind KG/Bass/Wilcox. He is a PF, not a C.
As clover points out, he’s not a 7 footer. Though he’s a ‘legitimate’ 6-10 PF. I say ‘legitimate’ in that even though, like so many NBA players, he measures just under his listed height without shoes, he has tremendous standing reach, standing vertical and max vertical. He brings ‘legitimate’ length at the PF position on both offense and defense.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.
I meant he'll get minutes behind Wilcox and Stiemsma
He’s clearly a PF, which Wilcox is vaguely and Stiemsma is not. As far as the pecking order of reserve big men coming off the bench he’ll be behind those two is what I meant
Funny
Sometimes we make a big deal about bulk- and I know that it can be a major factor in defending/finishing in the post. But really, how many people are posting up these days. And if we want to talk rebounding, we look no further than Dennis Rodman to show that all types can go get the ball. KG was a rail (still is)- and he plays as a center WITHOUT the hops that JJJ has. JJJ can shoot (just like KG)- and can finish better than KG. Experience separates them of course. But the infatuation with bulk overshadows the positives of his potential. Playing time is tough with so many PF in his way—- but Doc has seen that the absence of any one or two players ( injured or resting ) seem to matter much. We fill in and seem to have more energy. The only way we can combat teams built like the Heat and clippers is to maybe collect a group of talented (but not superstar) players (see Denver). Or maybe we can admit that Rondo’s value might be more easily replaced by a couple of other players (bigs). I like seeing more players involved in the game it can only make us better now AND in the future
Let's not jump into conclusion
He looked good but let’s face it, it’s against the Raptors and it’s garbage time. This is thesame hype we gave to guys like Avery Bradley and Sasha Pavlovic when they had a good game, overlooking how sloppy these two are offensively…and yea, most of the time they are sloppy. Sasha turned the ball over so much tonight, it drove me crazy. Same issue with Steimsa. Hopefully these guys can get better and stay consistent night in, night out.
Didn't see the game.
But Sasha had 2 TOs in 21 minutes.
Yeah, which is not at all 'turned the ball over so much'.
In my opinion (and Docs, based on post-game comments) Sasha played pretty well last night and has been playing pretty good over this winning streak. He is an amazing athlete with great skills on both sides of the ball, but gets down on himself. When he’s playing with confidence, like he seems lately, he’s very valuable.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.
have said this before
No NBA player is bad. They didn’t let their uncle call in a favor for them- they played at a high level somewhere. Give anybody 20-25 minutes for ten games (and assurance that he is not going to be yanked if he has a bad few minutes) and most will perform OK. if you played the 4 young guys like this, they would have great, good, average, and poor games—- just like starters do. They might make more mistakes, but the box score would look similar. Yes it was garbage time- but the ball is round, the hoop is ten feet high, and you still gotta make it. If he can shoot consistently- and use his athleticism under control- he could be a real find.
Maybe he could
Develop into an Ibaka type player (Ibaka got 11 rebounds and 10 blocks today).
id say he wont get 11 rebounds a night
but he could get 15 points 5 rebounds 5 blocks in a starting role
by JuJuan some moore on Feb 2, 2012 3:42 AM EST up reply actions
so an additional 1 minute?
and thats if he plays 35 minutes a game not as a role player
by JuJuan some moore on Feb 2, 2012 4:54 AM EST up reply actions
If he can average 5 blocks a night as a starter, I say give him Stiemer's whole minute!
(I want to see him play more too.)
He’s just too skinny to play at the moment. The example with Odom is stupid, Odom would kill him inside. Unless he adds weight he’s always going to be too skinny to play post-D, it doesn’t matter how quick he is, teams will just post him up and score over him.
Why is this article acting like he’s 7’0 and just needs to add bulk, he’s a very skinny 6’10, that will never be a dominant shotblocker. 5 blocks a game is all-time great numbers, he’d be lucky to average 2. He’s not particularly athletic (DeAndre Jordan is 6’10 and gets that many blocks with his great vertical, Johnson is getting nowhere near that), and nobody is going to be threatened to drive into a stick insect in the middle anyway, so he’s hardly a threatening presence. He can be a solid player if he adds weight, but he’s just not ready at the moment.
Wilcox and then Stiemsma are much better options than him at this moment because at least they wont just get plowed down by any other big that comes at them. Once Johnson adds weight then he can start getting more minutes, he just looks like a kid out there at the moment.
not ready
I like JJJ and think he has a bright future but he’s not ready t play meaningful minutes in the NBA. Think about who he was facing. Toronto is only a step above a NBDL team and it was against their scrubs in garbage time. All that tell me is he would be pretty dominant in the NBDL.
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