Nice find! This is exactly what I was alluding to and maybe what coach envisions by adding Joe to the lineup. Although Ariza, Luc, PJ, and Anderson are all threats from the 3 point line to varying degrees, none of them are really threats to score consistently if they are closed out and forced to put the ball on the floor. If they do make any moves towards the basket, we get pretty excited when they do manage to score because it doesn't happen very often. Even more rare in occurrence is them being able to put the ball on the floor and have the passing ability and court vision to be able to create a shot attempt for a teammate. Joe Johnson can not only be a deadly spot up shooter, but he can also attack a closeout with his dribble to create a shot for himself or find an open teammate. That is an added dimension that we do NOT presently have from either the small forward or power forward positions. I think this is very exciting. Just consider the possibilities. Melo would have been adept at attacking off the dribble on the closeout and would've been a huge threat to score, but Melo is not known for his passing, court vision, and basketball IQ. Joe could potentially provide us with a huge wrinkle offensively when things slow down in the playoffs, each possession is critical, and efficient half court offense becomes even more of a premium. We saw how Ryan Anderson was often neutralized at the 3 point line and how his inability to be more than a one trick pony hurt us at times. As an added bonus, Joe can also post up effectively and punish other guards that are switched on to him or find guys if he is doubled. Heck he even posts up guys bigger than him. Mark me as being disappointed if we don't see somewhat of a resurgence from him when he gets here and is able to operate in this offense while playing with Chris Paul and James Harden. He has a skillset at his position that can unlock another part of this offense that we haven't seen. And as a bonus, he can grab the rebound and advance the ball up the court at times. He probably won't do this much because we have 2 hall of fame point guards who should have the ball, but the thing is, he can do it if we need him to. I wouldn't mind him getting the ball to Harden or CP3 spotted up at the 3 point line early in the offense.
In the LockedOnRockets podcast discussion of Joe Johnson they specifically talked about Johnson not being a ball-handler, and not being a good rebounder. One thing I'm sure of is that Joe is NOT a tempo-pusher. You just said a guy known as 'ISO Joe' could 'ignite the fast break'. A little farfetched, IMO. We're getting a huge variety of opinions here. I'm going to stay calm until I can see it with my own eyes.
When I say ignite the break, I more or less mean he grabs the rebound and instead of CP3 or James always hanging around for the ball in the backcourt, they would have the option of sprinting up the floor and he passes it ahead to them which would get us into earlier offensive sets. He isn't going to take it himself and go coast to coast or anything like that. I listened to the pod. I recall him saying that he wasn't a good rebounder or a strong defender. I don't recall him saying that he couldn't handle the ball any longer. Maybe I missed it. The videos I've watched of him playing this year seem to indicate that although he is slower than he used to be, that he is still capable of putting the ball on the floor in certain situations like closeouts and taking a few dribbles up the floor before passing it to someone else. Certainly much more of a threat to do any of those things than any of the other forwards on the team at present.
Placing aside the variables that make this somewhat of a flawed question (salary disparity, age difference), I'd say its entirely possible. We have a $20M player that was unplayable at times in the postseason last year. Why? Because he's such a one-trick-pony. JJ's diverse skillset and versatility as a two-way player already safeguards us against that happening again. If Ryno pulls another Houdini act, we can easily replace him with a guy that not only knows how to play the standard 3&D role, but is also the best one-on-one scorer on the team outside of James, Gordon and CP3. Add to that his team-first attitude and ability to initiate the offense, you have a player that brings a lot to the table. Even if his shot isn't falling, JJ will contribute in other areas. His stat-lines won't "wow" you but whenever we make a clutch shot because of an extra pass or JJ, through experience and instincts alone, helps force a key TO late in the game, you'll "get it". With Melo, it's mostly just hit-or-miss offense. 17 PPG on 15.5 shots. Really only rebounds if the ball bounces right to him or passes as a last resort. I'd still take him over Ryno in the hypothetical swap, but even if MDA was able to contain his questionable shot selection, I think we're still talking about a player who's contributions on this team would be limited to hit-or-miss offense.
Have we signed both of them? You know somewhere and somehow the Spurs and Warriors are trying to derail this. Let's get it done!
No offense but people treating joe Johnson like the second coming of Christ is a bit annoying. Obviously I hope he can tap into his inner star and produce of the bench if he plays at all But no I think melo is better ATM, but maybe he isn't a good fit for us anyway
Bro I think Joe Chee is around 7'3 in shoes. I might be wrong though considering his age he might grow even taller.
I think D’Antoni would have found a better way to integrate melo into the offense than Okc has. JJ will be good here though even with the lack of minutes. Green will be our spark off the bench for now but JJ will get the minutes come playoff time.
Why wouldn't he see pt? If Ryno goes missing we lose that outside scoring threat as a stretch PF. Joe can hit open 3's with his eyes closed
So is he really gonna play some 4 for us? It kinda feels like we are chalk full of 3's between Ariza, Green, and Tucker.
