James Johnson Discussion

[thead]

If someone like Shroeder or Jennings is guarding Lowry than situationally it makes sense to have a bit of a post game because he can get easy buckets. DeRozan does the same against smaller defenders and it works beautifully. Now it shouldn't be every possession but based on the matchups having a little post game can open up some easy looks

[stooley]

Unless you play to shoot threes, the opportunities don't show up. For every open three players try have to try to get open. Per possession especially off the bench him popping out for shots he shouldn't be taking is wasted motion. Just like Demar, when he doesn't have the ball he isn't trying to get open for a three. He is cutting into the basket or taking pressure off Lowry. JJ should be crashing the boards or picking up his defensive assignment. Both are more useful than looking for a shot he really shouldn't be taking. Landry moves better because he has abandoned getting open on the perimeter.

You've lost your mind.

[raptors999]

You've lost your mind.

When Lebron starts shooting jumpers and playing on the perimeter his team loses. JJ passes and ball handles better than he shoots. Trying to make him 3-D is a waste. It actually Josh Smith.

[stooley]

When Lebron starts shooting jumpers and playing on the perimeter his team loses. JJ passes and ball handles better than he shoots. Trying to make him 3-D is a waste. It actually Josh Smith.

Oh yeah. Good points...

[Mr.Z]

Unless you play to shoot threes, the opportunities don't show up. For every open three players try have to try to get open. Per possession especially off the bench him popping out for shots he shouldn't be taking is wasted motion. Just like Demar, when he doesn't have the ball he isn't trying to get open for a three. He is cutting into the basket or taking pressure off Lowry. JJ should be crashing the boards or picking up his defensive assignment. Both are more useful than looking for a shot he really shouldn't be taking. Landry moves better because he has abandoned getting open on the perimeter.

Dude... He already attempts one three a game. All we're saying is it would be nice if that one three actually went through the net lol how is that bad? If those shots start to drop, it opens up the drive for him even more because people will have to respect his jump shot and can't just crowd the pain when he catches the ball.

[Bonus Jonas]

When Lebron starts shooting jumpers and playing on the perimeter his team loses. JJ passes and ball handles better than he shoots. Trying to make him 3-D is a waste. It actually Josh Smith.

So what if he only practices them in practice and hits the 1 he takes per game at a much higher rate? Still makes him a 3-D guy??

[octothorp]

To me, the dunk against Drummond shows exactly why you want Johnson to develop a corner 3. What if KCP had actually read the scouting report on Johnson and not closed-out so aggressively, forcing Drummond into a late help situation? A decent defender in that situation would have have prevented the penetration at all costs and forced Johnson to take the corner 3 or pass back out. But if Johnson could hit the corner 3 consistently, then the defender in that situation has no choice but to do exactly what KCP did on the play (or not leave him wide-open in the first place). Being able to knock down the corner 3 would actually set up Johnson for more drives, which he excels at. The Raptors could then make Johnson operating out of the corner a bigger part of their offense. Which means more Johnson drives overall and more vicious dunks.

[raptors999]

So what if he only practices them in practice and hits the 1 he takes per game at a much higher rate? Still makes him a 3-D guy??

He does practice them but if someone could stop Josh Smith from ever attempting a jumper he would be a terrific player. Give J Smith the same injury as Landry and he would be terrific.

[Mr.Z]

He does practice them but if someone could stop Josh Smith from ever attempting a jumper he would be a terrific player. Give J Smith the same injury as Landry and he would be terrific.

JJ doesn't need to shoot as many as Josh Smith!!! Why do you keep assuming that if he can shoot threes at a higher percentage that he's just going to start jacking them up all game long?

[raptors999]

JJ doesn't need to shoot as many as Josh Smith!!! Why do you keep assuming that if he can shoot threes at a higher percentage that he's just going to start jacking them up all game long?

Keep the thought out of his head completely. He shoots so few that any % is meaningless just like Amir. Some guys should not be shooting jump shot like 6'8" athletic SF. Is anybody really happy when Deng or Gay starts bricking shots.

[Mr.Z]

Keep the thought out of his head completely. He shoots so few that any % is meaningless just like Amir. Some guys should not be shooting jump shot like 6'8" athletic SF. Is anybody really happy when Deng or Gay starts bricking shots.

Its not meaningless!!! It means players will have to guard him on the perimeter which opens up driving lanes which would be amazing because he can then get to the hoop easier and bang on more people!

Makes it much more difficult for other players to guard him

[CalgaryRapsFan]

Keep the thought out of his head completely. He shoots so few that any % is meaningless just like Amir. Some guys should not be shooting jump shot like 6'8" athletic SF. Is anybody really happy when Deng or Gay starts bricking shots.

How dumb do you think NBA players are? How little influence do you think the coaches have?

I don't understand how anybody could possible think that an improved 3pt shot from JJ could be anything but a bad thing? As the SF, he's one of the perimeter guys on the floor, so expanding his offensive repertoire to include an improved 3pt shot is going to create even more problems for the defense.

If you watch the game, DC parks him in the corner quite a bit, but a lot of defenders sag off him, daring him to shoot. Becoming a better 3pt shooter would force defenders to stay honest which would not only open up more opportunities to dribble-penetrate off a shot fake (as octothorp already pointed out), but it would also draw his defender out of the lane, which could benefit his teammates as well (ie: easier lane penetration by guards, less/later double-teams on post-ups by bigs).

[raptors999]

Its not meaningless!!! It means players will have to guard him on the perimeter which opens up driving lanes which would be amazing because he can then get to the hoop easier and bang on more people!

Makes it much more difficult for other players to guard him

Guys still guard him. He isn't a cripple and he makes enough to keep defense honest but keep thoughts of shooting out of his head completely. He isn't a first or second option - he shouldn't be shooting.

[thead]

if he can't shoot at all they sag off of him it's not rocket surgery. You need to be able to knock down a wide open undefended 3 ball at around 35% in order to keep a defense honest.

[ogi]

Guys still guard him. He isn't a cripple and he makes enough to keep defense honest but keep thoughts of shooting out of his head completely. He isn't a first or second option - he shouldn't be shooting.

so only the first two options should be shooting? I don't understand. If he's making shots that means he's taking them which means he has thoughts of shooting. Also if he completely stopped taking that shot then trust me guys would completely stop guarding him on the perimeter.