Amir Johnson is still a project.(Also, science project ideas for all you youngsters!)

[Matt]

i'm going to say the thing that everyone's afraid to say: Amir Johnson isn't close to ready.

i really, really, want to buy into the Langlois koolaid and believe that Amir will be the first Pistons' max player, but watching him on the floor.........the dude is still way too raw to be effective. he's extremely agile for a bigman, but he's just too unrefined and he looks clueless when it's not free-wheeling fastbreak basketball. i just don't see any improvement skill-wise since last season. i KNOW he hasn't had much "real" NBA PT, but he's had a chance to play in the NBDL and he's had a few summers to develop his game. this is his third season and he still shoots like a girl (sorry, WNBA) and has no semblance of an offensive game.

i'm going make a prediction and say that Amir barely makes a blip this season. he might average career highs across the board, but those will be deceiving because he'll be in more blow outs, racking up dunks against 3rd stringers.

i think he's still 2-3 years from becoming a reliable bench player. i don't think he's a bust, but i really think he's further off from making an impact than the Piston's brass will lead us to believe. no doubt Amir will be exciting for moments because of his athleticism, but i don't think he's going to be an impact player for 2, 3 maybe 4 years. i stand by my claim that this piston's bench will be exciting/fun to watch (amir being a part of that), i'm just disappointed when i put down my pistons pom-poms and realize that Amir is still more project than player right now.

does anyone else feel this way with Amir? i'm praying that he'll prove me wrong and we can mock and ridicule me for this thread.....

[Tahoe]

Good post.

I don't think anyone knows for sure what type of player he will be. Can he put on weight and become a power player? Is he a big man that can slash? Can he grow enough to become a Tim Duncan or Jermain O'Neil type of player?

At least Stuck knows what position he is going to play and what to learn.

[Matt]

on a side note (maybe deserves it's own thread), i've been real pleased with Maxiell's rebounding lately. ever since he got called out for being a pussy on the boards, he's gone for double digit rebounds in 5 of his last 6 games.

[b-diddy]

yea, completely agreed.

just look at his development. hs, where you know he was getting 0 coaching, like, less than grade school coaching.

then he goes to the nbdl where i suspect (never watched) team basketball is literally never played.

so for our purposes, he is 100% raw. hes extremely gifted, sure. but he hasnt even developed his own skill set, let alone found his nitch in the team scheme.

if he plays, it will be a joe d edict, i seriously doubt flip wants any part of him.

[FP22]

Keep in mind he just came off an injury and hasn't played steady minutes in a game atmosphere since the last few games of the regular season last year. So on top of the fact that he is raw, he is rusty.

The one thing that I don't get about this team "developing" players is that they don't ever seem to tweak a players jumpshot form. Tayshaun... Terrible, though a part of me understands since he came here as a solid shooter, and he had too many years of organized basketball under his belt to alter it without screwing him up completely. But Amir was always a project. We didn't have to worry about the transition to the new form screwing him up (the jumper would always be a secondary weapon anyways). Why didn't someone in the Pistons organization work on this with him? Same with Stuckey and his slingshot. It's not like his jumper is anything better than shaky right now, why not help him tweak it for the long run?

[Kstat]

Matt, you realize you just commented on a game he played shaking off a month of rust after spraining his ankle, in which he still went 4-4 from the field...right?

You just might want to wait until waiting until he plays in a regular season game before throwing in the towel on him for this season...

[Kstat]

Keep in mind he just came off an injury and hasn't played steady minutes in a game atmosphere since the last few games of the regular season last year. So on top of the fact that he is raw, he is rusty.

The one thing that I don't get about this team "developing" players is that they don't ever seem to tweak a players jumpshot form. Tayshaun... Terrible, though a part of me understands since he came here as a solid shooter, and he had too many years of organized basketball under his belt to alter it without screwing him up completely. But Amir was always a project. We didn't have to worry about the transition to the new form screwing him up (the jumper would always be a secondary weapon anyways). Why didn't someone in the Pistons organization work on this with him? Same with Stuckey and his slingshot. It's not like his jumper is anything better than shaky right now, why not help him tweak it for the long run?

Look at Jarvis Hayes. He has the picture-perfect jumper, and he shoots under %40.

Stop critiquing jumpers on appearance, ESPECIALLY when they're secondary weapons, like Amir and Stuckey. If the shit ain't broke, don't fix it. Amir isn't going to ever take a jumper unless the defense dares him to ANYWAY, in which his form really doesn't matter, does it?

It also seems like a very odd time to get on Stuckey about that, since he was hitting his jumper effortlessly last night.

[Glenn]

I'm always afraid that threads like this are going to give Keith Langlois a stroke.

I'm looking forward to seeing Amir play some more so I can see what the concern is all about.

I wonder how tolerant we're all going to be when playing the kids starts costing us wins? That is the real storyline of this season IMO.

And Flip Saunders can't afford to lose, which might make him feel like he's being set up to fail.

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[FP22]

Look at Jarvis Hayes. He has the picture-perfect jumper, and he shoots under %40.

That's poor shot selection. Besides, He's been the best jumpshooter on the team so far in the pre-season. 2nd best? Afflalo, another guy with a great looking jumper.

Stop critiquing jumpers on appearance, ESPECIALLY when they're secondary weapons, like Amir and Stuckey. If the shit ain't broke, don't fix it. Amir isn't going to ever take a jumper unless the defense dares him to ANYWAY, in which his form really doesn't matter, does it?

If they want to be just solid role-players, sure. That's fine. But if they want to be great players, they need to hit jumpers. Not just wide-open ones either. KG, Sheed, Bosh, Brand, Dirk, Duncan, etc. All are deadly mid-range shooters. It doesn't matter if they're wide open or have a defender or two in their face.

The problem with Amir is not that his shot doesn't go in, it's the fact that his release point is at his chest. That's going to get swallowed up the second he tries to get it off with a man anywhere in his general vicinity.

And Stuckey is a guard. Even Tony Parker, with Blazing speed, and insane finishing ability needed a jumpshot before he became a great player. Stuckey is quick, but not that quick. Eventually, teams will sag off of Stuckey, and shut off all of his driving lanes. If he can't consistently burn them, he will be in trouble.

It also seems like a very odd time to get on Stuckey about that, since he was hitting his jumper effortlessly last night.

Bad form often results in being very streaky. See Tayshaun. When he's hitting shots, he's hitting everything. When he's missing, he's terrible. I noticed even in the summer league that Stuckey was a hot/cold guy. I give Stuckey a pass for a while (well, once he gets back), but it's something to watch.

I'm not saying either will be bad players (I think both will at the least be good starters in the league), but these are legitimate concerns.

[Laxation]

Form may not be the be-all end-all to a good jumpshot, but it sure as hell matters.

For every shooter with a crappy jumpshot in the NBA, how many are there that actually have a good looking jumper?