JJ looks great as a catch and shoot guy from long range. Not his usual way of scoring but it's a perfect fit on the Rockets. Not much of a defender but I guess you can't have everything.
He looked good out there. Now that he had some time to practice and get to know his teammates. Plus get use to that depth perception issue Toyota Center is known for. *Sweet iso drive—stop on a dime—rise—and knock down of the 17 footer followed by *A pull the chair out—guy trying to post him up—fall to the ground——Ball To The Rockets 4-6 (FGA-FGM) 66.7%.....2-3 (3PA-3PM) 66.7%.....3 rebs......21 mins.....10 pts.....1 ast.......+9 (+/-) Yeah everything is going to be fine. Rockets can rest players and still beat most teams by 10 pts. T-Wolves was one of the biggest tests in the final 25 games. Butler went down injured while Rockets had a 13 point lead.
The thing I'm most excited about in Joe, is we can now completely neutralise one of the strengths the Warriors have always had - in the fact Livingston could take a player down in the post and get easy points. That doesn't happen with Joe Johnson defending him. Not even going to get into the fact he can be another devastating mid-range threat to their defence when they try to go all out on the perimeter.
Genius money, Have been league adjust how to defend you. Then just to slap them with a midrange game. Mind blown. Supersayan 3 mode
JJ is a big guy and he's "versatile", but it just seemed to me the Rockets defense didn't really start getting consistent stops until he was pulled off the floor in the 3rd quarter. I'm not saying he's terrible on D. He'll get better after figuring out exactly what the Rockets do. Regardless, it appears he will more than make up for it on the other end. P.S: I was a little distracted watching the game and my impression could be wrong.
Johnson’s frame reminds me of Lebron. 6’8”, 240lbs, strong as heck, doesn’t get tired. I imagine this is what Lebron will look like if he plays into his late 30s.
He has developed a lot from his Phoenix days when Dan Toney just used him for spacing purposes. Had a 6.5 apg and 1.3 spg in Atlanta one season.
He'll play meaningful minutes for us at the 4 during the playoffs. The utah folks say rest him on back to backs and he's a really good player. Ideally they'd rotate ryno, johnson and Mabute at the 4 depending on matchup, but then again, MDA doesn't seem to like a big rotation.