Utah Broadcaster on Joe Johnson's Fit/Season Up to Now

The phase out of Anderson to the second unit has already began even before Joe Johnson committed. I don't know where some of you guys have been.

Anderson could be phased out to the point where he is just a situational player. I don't know if it'll go that far. But believing he's the set starter at this point in the season means you haven't kept up. We're already going with other guys starting the 4. That's gonna continue.

 

I thought Locke's take on Joe on 0,1,2 days rest was really good. And makes sense. Because his role could be limited or situational, I feel we'll see the best of JJ. I am sure there is diminishing returns, just like with Nene, on more minutes. But this team can put him in the best situation to optimal results.

 

All the reasons the Rockets were after Carmelo are the same reasons they signed Joe Johnson. But at minimal cost and easy chemistry fit.

 

Joe isn't close to the player Melo is at this point though either. That's why it's minimal cost.

 

Yup. You can see it happening.

 

Well, of course. I am just talking about "fit." The type of player.

 

And when we play OKC, JJ can iso Carmello and expose him as he poor defender that he really is.

 

Man David was not optimistic at all. Ben was trying to be cautiously optimistic and I felt like he kept raining hard on his parade.

 

I agree. The Rockets don't trust Ryno anymore than we do.

 

They are 2 years 11 months apart. Just pointing it out.

 

Ryno was only starting because Rockets want his trade value up. Once they realized no one still wants him. Then off to the bench he goes. It's like almost 2 months over due

 

Joe has a ton of mileage on him, but we're not expecting him to play big minutes. This is about having one more player that you can feel confident about throwing into the game during a big moment. In Joe's case, he's been to the playoffs every year for a decade straight and has more games played (112) than anyone on the roster. The importance of that experience is not to be overlooked, in my opinion. Not to mention he has a reputation as a big shot maker, which if nothing else, makes him an excellent decoy to give Harden or Paul more room to operate. These are all qualities you don't get from Troy Williams, Bobby Brown, RJ Hunter, et al.

 

Agreed. We were good enough that we could start him and showcase (lol) him while still winning games. We had no choice since we were trying to trade him. We had to play him and try to make him look as good as possible to have any chance of moving him. That meant playing him alongside Harden and Paul as much as possible. And he basically screwed us by tanking anyway. I'm not saying that was intentional. I'm simply saying that Anderson does not handle pressure well. He knew he was on the trade block and nothing, including Harden and Paul being super nice and babying him, could get him untracked.

The benching of Anderson continuing now that the deadline has past and before Joe Johnson arrives is further evidence that defense at the 4 spot alongside Capela is more "weighty" to winning than the "gravity of spacing" that Anderson adds to the offense, an idea that was greatly exaggerated and oversold to the media and was ate up and swallowed down by fans and members here like it was cotton candy.

The reality is that there are two sides to basketball that determine wins and losses. You have to consider both sides of the game and how the rest of the team is built to determine a players value to the teams record. In our particular case, defense at the 4 spot is even more important than the added spacing Anderson gives the offense because Capela is not a dominant defender in the paint. When you don't have a dominant defensive paint presence at the 5, having great defense at the 4 becomes critical, way more critical than the added floor spacing Anderson gives a starting line-up that includes two future hall-of-famers in the starting backcourt and a very good shooting defender at the three in Ariza. We simply need a plus defender at the 4 much more than we need the extra "spacing" he provides.

Remember that going forward when Ariza and PJ and LMM and Harden and Joe Johnson are playing over 90% of the minutes at the 4 in the playoffs. Defense at the 4 alongside Capela is crucial to our championship hopes.

 

Anderson is about to get those minutes reduced even more.

He’s a Matt Bullard type player. Put him in, if he’s hot...roll with it...

If he clanks his first few shots it’s time to give someone else a try. He doesn’t do enough well that you can live with him trying to find his shot during the course of the game.

 

Ryno's shot is broken and so is his confidence. I don't understand what the problem is except that the arc on his shots seem less pronounced than before. Regardless, his minutes are going down. Joe Johnson is old but is very skilled. I expect him to help a good deal in brief spurts.

 

I think the defense at the PF spot has as much to do with the "switching" at the peremeter as anything else.

Agree on the aggregate that "defense" at the PF spot is more important that the "shooting" (inconsistent, I might add) that Anderson brings. Including the infamous gravity.

I don't have a problem with David Locke being slightly cool on JJ. How JJ was used in Utah might not be the same as in Houston. I think he will thrive.

 

he is shooting 53%(fifty three %) on 3s in last 5 games...his shooting is ELITE RECENTLY

as per broken confidence, how about this

 

Locke kept implying Joe is done but if he can do what 37 year Crawford is doing tonight every once in a while I think that's exactly what Morey envisioned

 

I'm gonna look into this. Can you do this at home or do u have to attend a class?