Photo Credit:
http://ballersfb.nike.com/basketball_content/nba/players/profile/amir_johnson.jpg
Chris Bosh's departure from the Raptors takes away 24 points and 11 boards per game from the Dinos. For now, the burden of filling the Bosh void falls upon Amir Johnson and rookie Ed Davis. Ideally, Andrea Bargnani and other Raptor role players will be able to pick up their scoring and rebounding to help fill the void. However, for the Raptors to have be a successful team, the power forward position must still contribute significantly. Are Johnson and Davis able to contribute enough for the Raptors to be successful?
As it stands, Amir Johnson is probably best known as the last player ever to be drafted straight out of high school. At the beginning of the summer the Raptors locked up the 23 year old for 5 more years with a 34 million dollar contract. I am a big fan of Amir Johnson. I love that at 23 years old he already has 6 years of NBA play under his belt, and I believe that NBA experience is a value that cannot be taught. Amir is also a versatile player; he played all 82 for the Raps last season, averaging 6 ppg and 5 rpg in about 18 minutes per game. If you extend his numbers out to starter minutes (36 mpg), Johnson would average just under 13 ppg and just under 10 rpg, which many would say would be perfectly adequate numbers for a starting four.
Amir's progression throughout the '09-'10 season was on display. We saw him grow more comfortable in a Raptor uniform. He brought energy and crashed the boards off the bench, sparking the team for a run more than often. Amir is excellent off the pick and roll, and even towards the end of last season he was starting to get his number called on plays. He has always been an efficient scorer with a career field goal percentage of 60%.
Amir's offense is still quite raw however. He lacks great post moves and hesitates to take an open foul line jumper. But the bottom line is: with 6 years of experience under his belt and at just 23 years of age, Amir has plenty of time to refine his game.
Photo Credit:
http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/cm4lSMmEbMR/North+Carolina+Asheville+v+North+Carolina/huKOHxBb4N7/Quinard+Jackson
With the 13th pick in the 2010 NBA draft, the Toronto Raptors selected a 6'10 left-handed power forward. No, it was not Chris Bosh's clone, it was Ed Davis. I find Ed to be a very intriguing prospect. In his freshman year, Ed averaged about 7 ppg and 7 rpg with the North Carolina Tar-Heels en route to being named to the ACC all-freshman team. In Summer 2009, Davis was slotted to be a top-5 pick in the draft should he have chosen to enter it. Davis decided to go back to school, however in February he suffered a broken wrist which ended his season.
In his years with North Carolina, Davis showed that he has an excellent touch around the basket and is not afraid to grab a rebound or two. He even led the Tar-Heels with 65 blocks (1.7 per game) in his freshman year. In Summer League play, Ed looked right at home. He shot an impressive 63% from the field and averaged 12.6 ppg and 6 rpg for the undefeated Raptors.
I like Ed Davis a lot and I think that we stole him with the 13th pick. I also like that he will not have the pressure of starting in his rookie year. He can learn from Amir, and feel comfortable hanging with the Young Gunz (Sonny, DMDR, Amir). He does, however, need to work on extending his range and hit the weight room a little bit. In his draft interview, Ed said that his favorite player was Chris Bosh. That's a start...
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