What a nice little surprise Armon Johnson is turning out to be

Some of you were impressed way back in summer league... me... didn't see it... but now... wow. I am really impressed. Sure he had a 6 TO game recently (he is still a rookie) but he is just solid in so many areas. Nice finish with the right hand last night... always solid D... 4-5 from 3 point line so far this year... and he runs the team well.

I was nervous with him as the backup PG when the season started. I am not anymore. 34th pick? What a steal.

 

im just gonna assume u have missed every game except opening night and the bucks game

 

Agreed. Still making some rookie moves (like trying to pass on that break when he was at the rim), but I feel comfortable with him out there. He at least gives you good defense and he pushes the ball every time. If the break isn't there he backs off and passes--HE DOESN'T POUND THE BALL!!!

I like him.

 

He is doing better than I thought he would. But I didn't think he would be any good at all. He is ok, and has a chance to turn out to be an ok player IMO. But he isn't anything special either. My guess is he takes about 2 to 3 years to become a journeyman PG. I don't buy into the media hoopla and the Blazer press machine building him up because I have seen it too many times before. I watch the games. Sometimes he makes plays. Sometimes he gets himself into trouble and looks like a rookie. I expect that because he is a rookie. It's not like he is Darren Collison or Brandon Jennings who rolls in and starts scoring in the teens and dishing out nearly 10 assist a game from the start. But he has made a few nice plays here and there.

 

Even when he's "bad," it's bad on offense -- usually errors of aggression or being too unselfish with the rock. At the other end of the floor I'm pretty happy to see him out there. He doesn't alway stop his man (no one does) but he harasses the hell out of whomever he's guarding and for a rook that's plenty.

 

I disagree that he isn't anything special. He's got two skills you don't see in a lot of young point guards--aggressive defense and a nice running floater in the lane.

The defense gets more discussion (and it's been a little less effective at times lately as teams come to expect it), but that little floater is a really, really nice shot to have. Tony Parker basically makes a living with that shot. Rudy tried to acquire the skill and failed miserably. Nobody else on the team even really has it.

I think he can really carve out a niche in this league with just those two skills. If he can add some other things to his game (which he seems to be trying, if you listen to the reports), I really like his potential.

 

I think it is pretty clear that this kid is an 2-way NBA PG - which is not something we see that often in Blazers uniform. JB and JJ were more combo guards than him - and I think he will turn to be a better defender than either, Sergio was a 1 way only PG and scoring was a real problem for him, Blake's defense is underrated - but he struggles against quick guards and his running the offense abilities are not as good as this kid could be, imho.

So, overall, I think we got ourselves a great pick in this guy. I?s he going to be a star? Not likely simply because it is so rare from a 2nd rounder, but I think this kid is a rotation PG in the NBA for a long long time. Might not be the PGotF, but might be BPGotF.

 

Kevin Pelton's closest comp for him was oddly enough Ramon Sessions (another Nevada product) but Sessions with defense. If we get that out of him he won't be a star, but he can be a very productive player that will probably always flirt with that line between clear-cut starter and high level reserve. I feely admit there's a whole lot of ifs and buts between where he is right now and fulfilling that potential.

 

I think his realistic upside is somewhere around the Andre Miller tier. Maybe the 10th best PG in the league in his prime. Not a world-beater, but if he is your weakest link you've got a really damned good team.

 

I think this is an important distinction between him a Bayless (even though they are apples and oranges) Bayless decided in his mind that he was going to drive or push it regardless of the D... Armon seems to try to take advantage but not force it. I don't know if he ever ever be starter quality, but I for where we picked him... he has already exceeded my expectations.

 

I'm not saying he's as good as those two, but he hasn't been given the amount of opportunities those two had. Collison was basically Johnson type good until Paul went down with an injury and Jennings was in the starting lineup by default from day 1, because Ridnour sucks.

 

When was the last time we had such a tenacious defender at PG? I'm thinking Greg Anthony. It's been a while. And that's what you want in a bench player - someone you can throw in to disrupt the other team.

 

He's making a lot of mistakes, but I also see more in him that I expected to. Initially I thought he'd bounce back and forth to the D-league, but now that appears very unlikely. Although that's in some small part to Roy's issues.

 

Very good choice of who he reminds me of as well.

 

Why assume that? I've seen good stuff from Johnson is just about every game he's played so far.

 

Sessions is a terrible shooter. Johnson has already bypassed him in that regard.

A striking statistic?

The most total 3pt shots Sessions has made in an entire season? 6 (out of 34 attempts) in 79 games in the '08-09 season in 28 mpg over 79 games.

Armon Johnson has made 4 3pt shots this season (out of 5 attempts) in 9 games while only getting 11 mpg.

 

Pelton's tool accounted for Armon's pedestrian 3 point percentages in college ... and while the 4/5 from three in the pros beats the hell out of the alternative, I wouldn't go so far to say he's exceeded anybody. Regardless, I'm a Ramon Sessions fan, so it was meant as a compliment.

 

A good comparison, but Armon has the potential to be better than Anthony offensively, at least from what I've witnessed and also have seen statistically.

Still, if his ceiling is Greg Anthony, that is a hell of a back-up PG.