Summer Quandaries 22: Easy To Spot The Celtic

http://celticsgreen.blogspot.com/2015/08/sq22-easy-to-spot-celtic.html



SQ22 Easy to Spot the Celtic

By Lee Lauderdale







I usually have little interest in All-Star, Team USA, or any other star aggregation activities as they almost always feature an ESPN highlight collection rather any serious demonstration of basketball, or at least basketball the right (Celtics) way. Please, to get my juices flowing, give me a group of 5th graders moving the ball, getting back on defense, and passing up a good shot to give a teammate an even better shot. Still, in this desert of the NBA off-season, I eagerly tuned in to the “scrimmage” of the Team USA since one of our new acquisitions filled in (meaning he wasn't selected but agreed to do a solid for the Team since so many of the stars “had better/more-pressing things to do,” and I'll resist offering commentary since my mother often suggested I say nothing at all if I had nothing good to say) so Team USA would have enough bodies to field opposing teams for this made-for-TV photo op.

It took almost no time at all for me to pick out Amir Johnson when he entered the game. He actually stood out by his actions being in such contrast to the other players on the court. Running back on defense, making the extra non-showboat pass, helping on defense, boxing out on rebounds, picking up the loose man against the fast break—you would have thought these were alien concepts by their obvious scarcity! Almost every single time I looked to see who was making the solid basketball play, it was Amir. At least a half a dozen times he was the only one back on defense. Even those times he started under the basket when the opponents gained possession, he often passed more than half his teammates as he hustled back to the defensive end. Then he picked up the closest (most dangerous threat) opponent even though it was seldom his assigned man. Many times he switched on help defense, but I can't remember a single time when a teammate then covered the man Amir left to help his team. I swear that if you took a basketball aficionado, sat him down to watch this exhibition, and asked him to pick out one player playing the game the right way—99 out of 100 would have immediately identified Amir Johnson as the only guy not cruising on the lookout for his personal glory spots.

Yeah, I think Danny and Brad (and I and most Celtics fans) are going to be very, very pleased with this addition.

Only 44 days until camp.



bob
MY NOTE: I agree. I was stunned by the $ he got, but it's Danny's job to manage that. Amir Johnson, the player, I'm glad we have. I would have preferred a bonafide center, but they have to be available to be had first...


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