Ten years into his career, Amir Johnson is the ‘heart and soul’ of the Raptors | National Post
“This is his 10th year? Tenth year for Amir. He’s old school,” teammate and fellow Angelino DeMar DeRozan said. “When the game starts and it really counts, you know he’s going to show up. You can’t really feed into pre-season too much with Amir.” It is a Raptors cliché that Johnson has been an underappreciated part of the team during his time in Toronto. He is the Raptors’ stereotypical glue guy: He does not get plays called for him, he helps properly on defence, he sets perfect screens. He can be crucially important in games that he manages no more than six points and rebounds. Yet, the box score statistics still matter, not least of all to Johnson’s teammates. In the Raptors last two meaningful games — Game 7 against Brooklyn in May and Wednesday against Atlanta — Johnson has put up 36 points and 20 rebounds in just 53 minutes. That production tends to come from not a series of intricate sets, but from attacking the glass with a mix of smarts, abandon and pure instinct. In that sen
Amir Johnson brings the energy to the Raptors | Toronto Sun
Johnson, who played through a lot of last season’s stretch run with various bumps and bruises and finally succumbed to an ankle injury for a short period, agreed that he is feeling healthy again. “After the season, I went and saw three doctors just to see if I needed surgery and they said I really didn’t need it, so I just went ahead and did the right stuff to make sure my ankle was nice and strong. I did that basically all summer and I feel good,” Johnson said. “My body feels solid. I feel, maybe stamina wise not quite there yet, but physical wise and strength wise, I feel solid. There were a couple of possessions on the court coming back (Wednesday) when I felt winded but I pushed myself.”
Raptors try to turn Jonas Valanciunas into a rebounding machine | National Post
Players such as Mavericks centre Tyson Chandler have made a living on simply getting a hand on an offensive rebound and swatting it to the backcourt to give his team a fresh 24 seconds. If the defensive rebounder does not try to secure the ball aggressively, he becomes susceptible to allowing the opposition another possession. Defensive rebounding is a point of emphasis for Casey this year. The Hawks had 10 offensive rebounds Wednesday night, six fewer than the Raptors. “It’s muscle memory,” Bayno said. “With a lot of guys, it’s easier to go with one, and they leave the left hand down. So just get the memory of [going up with] two hands.” Of course, Valanciunas battling with the Raptors’ video guys, no matter how much they cheat, is not a perfect approximation of battling the likes of Orlando’s Nik Vucevic, the Magic centre who grabbed 23 rebounds in Tuesday’s season opener against New Orleans. The Raptors play the Magic on Saturday.
Lewenberg: Hansbrough’s adaptation plan | TSN
Who is Tyler? After a full year spent in Toronto, he’s still a bit of a mystery, at least to those who don’t see him behind the closed doors of the locker room. On the floor, he brought his trademark energy and physicality, but often tried to do too much, searching for an identity and misinterpreting his role. Off it, he seemed quiet, introverted. Before and after games, he would mostly keep to himself. But there appears to be more to Hansbrough than meets the eye, evident in his mindful and reflective conversation with TSN.ca and The Globe and Mail on Thursday. The 28-year-old forward has been something of a revelation this fall, overlooked in a Raptors training camp filled with feel-good stories. In addition to extending his range beyond the three-point line, Hansbrough came back to work with a new, more easygoing mindset. It has not gone unnoticed in the gym.
Demar Derozans Evolution *Living Proof | NBADraft.net
Demar Derozan is proof that an athlete can completely change his mentality from passive to that killer instinct mentality through development. Anyone who wants to or wanted to give up on guys like J. Lamb, Mclemore, Wiggins, Drummond or any other young guy accused of not having drive needs to look at Derozans career.
DeMar DeRozan | The Jim Rome Show
Huge expectations this season | Wining the Atlantic Division last season | Changing the culture in Toronto | Feeling like you need to prove something every time you take the court | World Cup experience | Winning a gold medal | His workouts back in the day
I can haz yo linkz?? rapsfan@raptorsrepublic.com
