James Johnson and his lack of minutes

[Clutch Carter]

With Amir hobbled I'd like to see how JJ looks at PF, and giving Amir some high impact low minutes off the bench keeping PPat there for the sake of not messing up the rotations too much and ride whatever works on any given night... fat chance that ever happens though.

[Volcano]

I liked JJ the first time he was on this team, and love him the second. So it's taken me some time to wrap my mind around this.

JJ doesn't shoot 3s at an acceptable clip. Which isn't the worst thing in the world in isolation, but it's a major problem when your SG doesn't shoot 3s either. 3s are what's what today's NBA is all about. Everyone on Atlanta can shoot 3s except for Al, and he can shoot long 2s like other guys make lay-ups.

GV and Ross have shown the ability in the past to hit the 3-ball. Casey MUST try to get them going before the playoffs. Failure is not an option. So they (and Lou) get minutes, and JJ doesn't. It's a zero-sum game. It will be interesting to see what happens in the playoffs. The Jays World Series manager was all about the Jimmie's and Joes during the season, but became an X's and O's guy in the playoffs. Maybe Casey will be, too.

Problem is that GV is a huge negative on defense and sometimes hurts the offense with bad IQ. Ross is undersized at SF or pushes DD to SF where he's undersized too. Defensively, Ross has been struggling. Offensively, he can't do much besides shoot jumpers inconsistently.

It doesn't make sense to "get them going before the playoffs". That's what practice is for. Giving them 5-10 more minutes isn't going to magically make them Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. It doesn't work that way.

You don't sacrifice everything in the game just because a guy can shoot a couple 3's. JJ actually has some court vision, ball handling skills, ability to attack the rim, b-ball IQ (despite some boneheadedness), efficiency. Does it really make sense to play someone who can be a negative on both sides of the court over a guy who can be a positive on both ends?

In the playoffs, we sacrificed a bit of offense for defense with Fields and we were in control of the entire game. That was the only game in the entire series where we were in control and didn't have to scramble helplessly on D. The next game he only gets garbage minutes and we lose. Meanwhile, the players are still chucking up the same shots and DD still got double teamed without being able to kick it to an open man.

Spacing is an issue, but that's where PP comes in. He got 29 min while JJ got 9 min.

[kidr1211]

If we had a SG that could do more than brick long 2s JJ would be the perfect starting SF for us, smh.

[Matty]

With Amir hobbled I'd like to see how JJ looks at PF, and giving Amir some high impact low minutes off the bench keeping PPat there for the sake of not messing up the rotations too much and ride whatever works on any given night... fat chance that ever happens though.

The problem is I don't think he sees himself as the guy making the screen and rolling, and since he doesn't have a consistent 3-point shot putting him at the PF spot doesn't really help us except for certain match ups.

[BigCashRuthford]

Originally I thought maybe a trade was coming up for JJ and some snags in the deal happened so they were only playing him light minutes to avoid injury but nope a wild Dwane Casey appeared.

[tecumseh18]

It doesn't make sense to "get them going before the playoffs". That's what practice is for. Giving them 5-10 more minutes isn't going to magically make them Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. It doesn't work that way.

Wow, you just demolished that straw man. Complete pwnage.

But shooters need a certain amount of volume to keep their rhythm. GV was unquestionably much better for us last season in the pre-Lou era. While he was never an honourary "Splash Cousin", he certainly showed improvement through the regular season and on into the playoffs. Our most effective quintets last year featured GV and Lowry together on the court - the first time I've ever seen the Raptor run out two PGs without barfing. And I've said many times on this board that the Game 7 loss may have been attributable to the failure to get the ball to GV late in the fourth quarter, where he had done so much damage in previous games.

The Raptors thinking maybe to try and re-create that by eliminating of JJ's minutes.

Does it really make sense to play someone who can be a negative on both sides of the court over a guy who can be a positive on both ends?

During the regular season, playing in a division where we are basically guaranteed a top four spot in the conference? Arguably yes.

In the playoffs, we sacrificed a bit of offense for defense with Fields and we were in control of the entire game. That was the only game in the entire series where we were in control and didn't have to scramble helplessly on D. The next game he only gets garbage minutes and we lose. Meanwhile, the players are still chucking up the same shots and DD still got double teamed without being able to kick it to an open man.

Ross gave us nothing in the playoffs, but GV was useful. Now, neither player is giving us anything on a consistent basis. That is a difficult hurdle to overcome with a non-3 shooting SF - whether it be Fields or JJ - out there.

Spacing is an issue, but that's where PP comes in. He got 29 min while JJ got 9 min.

But DeMar has to get his 30-35 mpg. And the ostensible long distance shooters need to stay in rhythm (as explained above). So JJ sits.

Hey, did I say I like this situation? I don't. I'm just trying to make sense of a seemingly senseless decision. Even the most rabid Casey-hater can't pretend that Raptors management doesn't crunch the numbers and analyze the trends. These guys know what they are doing.

[ajeyab]

I still beleive jj's best position for our team is at the 4. Giving hansborough minutes to JJ is what is going to solve the issue. You play him with ppat at the 5 and gv and Lou in the backcourt will still allow the team to stretch the floor. He gambles way to often as a weakside perimeter defender and having him guard the paint and get rebounds is what he can be best used for. He thrived in memphis as a 4 when zbo went out. If this team can get one more shooter the bench unit of gv, Lou, the shooter at the 3, pat pat and JJ is good enough.

[ajeyab]

This may be looking into too much but ever since he made the comment about guys on the team being overconfident after lowry held the players only meeting is when his minutes have been decreased. Maybe its lowry telling JJ to stfu and not let anything out of the lockeroom

[bananaman]

JJ can pretty much score at will when he drives to the basket. I have no clue why Hansbrough is getting burn over JJ. I understand there might be some issues behind the scenes, but lots of teams have headcase players. You need to put winning above all else, instead of neutering your team.

[Volcano]

It doesn't make sense to "get them going before the playoffs". That's what practice is for. Giving them 5-10 more minutes isn't going to magically make them Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. It doesn't work that way.

Wow, you just demolished that straw man. Complete pwnage.

But shooters need a certain amount of volume to keep their rhythm. GV was unquestionably much better for us last season in the pre-Lou era. While he was never an honourary "Splash Cousin", he certainly showed improvement through the regular season and on into the playoffs. Our most effective quintets last year featured GV and Lowry together on the court - the first time I've ever seen the Raptor run out two PGs without barfing. And I've said many times on this board that the Game 7 loss may have been attributable to the failure to get the ball to GV late in the fourth quarter, where he had done so much damage in previous games.

Does it really make sense to play someone who can be a negative on both sides of the court over a guy who can be a positive on both ends?

During the regular season, playing in a division where we are basically guaranteed a top four spot in the conference? Arguably yes.

In the playoffs, we sacrificed a bit of offense for defense with Fields and we were in control of the entire game. That was the only game in the entire series where we were in control and didn't have to scramble helplessly on D. The next game he only gets garbage minutes and we lose. Meanwhile, the players are still chucking up the same shots and DD still got double teamed without being able to kick it to an open man.

Ross gave us nothing in the playoffs, but GV was useful. Now, neither player is giving us anything on a consistent basis. That is a difficult hurdle to overcome with a non-3 shooting SF - whether it be Fields or JJ - out there.

Spacing is an issue, but that's where PP comes in. He got 29 min while JJ got 9 min.

But DeMar has to get his 30-35 mpg. And the ostensible long distance shooters need to stay in rhythm (as explained above). So JJ sits.

Hey, did I say I like this situation? I don't. I'm just trying to make sense of a seemingly senseless decision. Even the most rabid Casey-hater can't pretend that Raptors management doesn't crunch the numbers and analyze the trends. These guys know what they are doing.

no, getting their shots going is still not good enough of a reason to play GV/Ross an extra 5-10 minutes. It still doesn't work that way. Ross was hot for us all season and flopped in the playoffs. Not really a strawman. An exaggeration with the GSW players? Yeah.

GV and Lowry worked because of Lowry and our alternative was giving Salmons minutes. GV alone also couldn't run the offense. Now we have Lou + GV line-ups, which is worse..basically because Lowry is our star. I'm not saying don't play GV at all, but that JJ getting under 10 min doesn't make sense.

Wouldn't it be better to get JJ going? He's never had large minutes or consistent playing time. We can weed out his boneheadedness and help him polish his game. At the same time, he can develop more chemistry with the players. Those are things that can be developed with more PT, not someone's jump shot. Long distance shooters don't polish their shots in-game. It's about putting the work in practice and off the court. Good role players can come in and hit shots straight off the bench despite minute fluctuations. Why? Because they put in the work off the court and stay ready.

Actually, the Raptors management doesn't necessary know what they're doing. That's why there are arguments all the time between players/coaches/managements and people get fired or different coaches have different system/schemes and people having different opinions. Do we have better coaches/management than we did before? Yeah, but that doesn't mean they know everything or are right about everything.

For instance, the Raptors management crunched the numbers and analyzed the trends and used a Rudy/DD iso offense. Even though it clearly wasn't working, they stuck with it until the very end. Yet, every single person - other fans, analysts and media members (aside from the die-hard homers where no one could do no wrong) knew this was a bad idea.

Or what about JV. Despite our previous experience with Bargnani, they still made JV put on bulk weight. Now they realized that JV's too slow and want him to do the opposite. They put Rudy Gay through the same thing so that he could get minutes at PF. Instead, he became slower and a less effective player too.

The worst thing is that these guys are professionals. They shouldn't be doing things that most people and the rest of the league know to be dead wrong. Fans are allowed to be dumb and have a range of crazy opinions. If you're getting paid millions to do your job with all the resources available at your whim, you shouldn't be making mistakes that a random guy can point out in foresight.

[agentzero2010]

Casey has to take minutes away from JJ because he is starting 2 PGs together and they have to keep at least 1 in the game at all times plus Ross is coming off the bench and so there is just no minutes left for JJ unless they go small.

I just don't understand the logic behind starting Vasquez. First, we don't have another backup PG so one of them will have to play extended minutes or one of the will have a short start, take a breather and then sub back in. Second, Vasquez is a terrible defender and he's a ball dominant guard and he's not a good off ball player. Overall, he's just not a good fit to play alongside Lowry and DeMar.

I dont know whats going on behind doors between JJ and Casey but he needs to put JJ in the starting lineup or reinsert Ross into the starting lineup because I just cant stand Vasquez chucking 3s and ignoring JV in the post. JJ knows how to get easy baskets, he gives us proper size in the 3 spot and he's a really good defender.

[PenguinBoxer]

what is worse is the fact casey wont take responsiblity for poor coaching and blame/call out his players

[Natural11]

Has to be something behind the scenes. We're clearly struggling with GV starting and Ross having disappeared altogether.

Didn't JJ publically endorse Jeff Teague for the all-star game, but not Lowry? Then there was another thing after the closed-door meeting.

In any case, I think Masai should look into a tweak to shake things up a bit. With the way this team is playing, even though we should take the 4 seed easily, I don't have much confidence that we'll do much of anything in the play-offs unless the guys can find their rhythm again and get back to November form.

[Volcano]

Has to be something behind the scenes. We're clearly struggling with GV starting and Ross having disappeared altogether.

Didn't JJ publically endorse Jeff Teague for the all-star game, but not Lowry? Then there was another thing after the closed-door meeting.

In any case, I think Masai should look into a tweak to shake things up a bit. With the way this team is playing, even though we should take the 4 seed easily, I don't have much confidence that we'll do much of anything in the play-offs unless the guys can find their rhythm again and get back to November form.

Could possibly be something like the amount of work JJ puts in off the court. It's confusing why his jumper is so weak. It's not like his form is bad or he has a hitch or injury issue. I would think something like 1000 shots a day would give him a respectable jumper. Maybe he's not putting in the time.

[Bobbcats]

While we're on the subject I think he should get more touches when he's actually in the game instead of being on corner duty (what opposing team actually thinks he's going to hit a shot from there?). He's pretty effective at making things happen when he touches the ball whether it's with a pass or layup.

[MEDIC]

Not only does JJ deserve more minutes & a defined role, but it makes it easier to do so with PP completely beasting it lately. Is Patterson also ready to take that next step as a starting PF? The guy is only 25 years old & is getting better.

[orbesnet]

At this point it really seems to be DC's tunnel vision we should blame... shooting woes be damned our defense is crap.

Since nothing is working and we got by the 76'ers by the skin of our teeth there is no better opportunity to mix it up. GV to the starting lineup is a mediocre move because GV's defense is weak. I understand wanting to keep Amir as a starter for all the little things he does but just waiting out the slump isn't the answer. Now more than ever inserting PPat and JJ into the lineup makes sense.

If we were running on all cylinders and killing it I'd understand feeling the need to keep the status quo but man, talking about the 76'ers here.

I give DC a pass on JV because JV is still improving and staying hungry, how JJ has been passed over is ridiculous at this point.

[WeTheNorth77]

If we had a SG that could do more than brick long 2s JJ would be the perfect starting SF for us, smh.

Dekobe gonna bounce back

[elmer_yuck]

Dwane Casey is an imbecile.
There is no other explanation for his idiotic decisions.

[Raptors-Son]

I was gona ask wtf did JJ to be in the dog house?


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