TORONTO - Amir Johnson was the last Raptor to report to camp, but his recovery from off-season ankle surgery appears well on track.
A noticeably bigger Johnson – he said he was up to 256 pounds after finishing a grueling season at 235 – pegged his ankle at 95%.
New Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said he liked what he saw from Johnson and the rest of the team.
“I saw no symptoms of his ankle,” Casey said.
“Health wise I thought we were in good shape. We’ll see after tonight, but I saw no ill effects of anyone’s summer whatsoever.”
Weight gain
Johnson joked that his weight gain was a result of spending the off-season “drinking Canadian brew,” before elaborating on his rehab.
While extremely unrealistic, Johnson is setting the bar for his season as high as possible.
“One of my goals is to try to get defensive player of the year, that’s what I’m looking forward to … offence comes second,” Johnson said.
That’s the type of attitude Casey is looking for.
His first practice as Raptors head coach was entirely based on defence. The only offence the club produced was at the free throw line.
“We’re a work in progress defensively,” Casey admitted.
“The number one thing we talked about was changing the culture and we started that process today.
“The culture of toughness and a defensive focus.”
Casey said he wasn’t nervous to get started, maybe a little anxious. Definitely excited.
He added that working in new additions over the next few days (Mickael Pietrus and Gary Forbes are the strongest possibilities) would force him to repeat some things in practice, but didn’t see that as a bad thing at all.
A noticeably bigger Johnson – he said he was up to 256 pounds after finishing a grueling season at 235 – pegged his ankle at 95%.
New Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said he liked what he saw from Johnson and the rest of the team.
“I saw no symptoms of his ankle,” Casey said.
“Health wise I thought we were in good shape. We’ll see after tonight, but I saw no ill effects of anyone’s summer whatsoever.”
Weight gain
Johnson joked that his weight gain was a result of spending the off-season “drinking Canadian brew,” before elaborating on his rehab.
While extremely unrealistic, Johnson is setting the bar for his season as high as possible.
“One of my goals is to try to get defensive player of the year, that’s what I’m looking forward to … offence comes second,” Johnson said.
That’s the type of attitude Casey is looking for.
His first practice as Raptors head coach was entirely based on defence. The only offence the club produced was at the free throw line.
“We’re a work in progress defensively,” Casey admitted.
“The number one thing we talked about was changing the culture and we started that process today.
“The culture of toughness and a defensive focus.”
Casey said he wasn’t nervous to get started, maybe a little anxious. Definitely excited.
He added that working in new additions over the next few days (Mickael Pietrus and Gary Forbes are the strongest possibilities) would force him to repeat some things in practice, but didn’t see that as a bad thing at all.
Awesome to hear Amir is striving for defensive player of the year.
To me it is a little worrisome he is anywhere near 250lbs. He has a history of ankle problems and weight won't help. Agility, speed, and leaping were some of his strengths that he used to his advantage.
I hope I'm wrong and time will tell but I don't feel good about this.
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