Summer League Game 1: Lots of James Johnson
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Jul 15, 2009 8:52 AM CDT
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PrintDidn't watch the game, but it sounds like Bulls Rookie James Johnson was impressive while putting up his line of 21 and 8 in 37 minutes. With the overall impression that whether he plays 4 or 3 with the Bulls, he's certainly coming in with the ability (and perhaps the mindset) of a 3.
Lots of second-hand analysis after the jump...
On offense he was knocking down his jumpers, finishing at the basket, leading the break, and made great passes all night. All in all, about the only negatives I could say about his game offensively is that he seemed to struggle to get involved off the ball, and that he looked pretty awkward in the post during the one post up attempt I saw.
Defensively, Johnson was a bit more suspect. He lost focus on his man a few times even if his man didn't necessarily make him pay for it. He seemed to struggle with Joe Ingles size at times, though again, Ingles didn't necessarily make him pay. It wasn't a terrible performance, but it was enough to give you a little pause on how Johnson will fit defending the four.
Doug also has a quick QandA with Johnson.
Didn't read Sam Smith yet, but I assume he's just happy the rookies are more polite to him than Tyrus Thomas is.
Johnson handled the ball very well. There aren't many players, if any in the NBA, who can handle the ball like he can. He handled the ball for the Bulls often in the half court, but also in the full court, where he led multiple Bulls' fastbreaks, many of which were successful. He also showed the ability in the half court to take his man off the dribble, and finish off his dribble drive move.
(I'll assume he means 'many players in the NBA his size who can...')
David Thorpe tweeting during the game:
-James Johnson with the best hesitation move of the week for a bucket.
-Johnson has scored on a great dribble move, a sweet jumper, and a post flash to the middle of the paint. Very, very nice.
-I understand why the Bulls drafted Johnson. But not Gibson.
-I think Ben Gordon taught Johnson how to shoot before jetting up the road. His arc is pro perfect.
Finally, some exclusive SBNation James Johnson audio (mp3), courtesy of Stan of BrightSideoftheSun, who's been in Vegas all week. He also passed along these thoughts:
I really like this kid. Great head on his shoulders and a very impressive game. Check the box score...he was very impressive. Just smart on the floor. Played much more on the wing then in the post. Showed solid handle. Good passing. And as you will hear he's incredibly bright and polite. He's a guy that your fans are really going to embrace...
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Hooray
We drafted yet another SF who we’ll force into a PF spot.
Woo hoo, we definitely need another one of those….
Grr.
Oh well, I hope he’s as good as advertised.
THE BULLS ARE GOING TO WIN IN 2010....maybe by stating this the positive vibes can make it happen.
Im with you
Look, I understand drafting based on talent but please please please lets not force another SF to play our already weak interior PF position. If anyone can hear me out there please pick up a low post presence and a true GOOD PF that is what we need not a PG, SG, SF, or even C WE NEED A starting TRUE PF please.
from what I've heard/read
Gibson looked pretty good too. I know you want to ignore him because he’s 24, but he was a first round pick too and I, for one, am rooting for him to be a contributor.
was he guarding him?
I thought that was mostly James Augustine. Stupid Justin TV would’t let me watch the game unfortunately, so I’m speaking second hand here
i saw some of the game and taj was on him
and the recaps from doug and sam seem to echo that. taj also picked up 9 fouls
either way
it would nice to see him being discussed since he was a first round pick and not ignored. I realize many people wish we took Blair (heck I almost threw things when I saw the pick), but what’s done is done.
Sometimes I think people on this blog take so bad about someone that they have a vested interest in seeing them fail and end up rooting for it. That is when blog discussions really start hurting the experience of being a fan.
i dont root for any bulls to fail
and i think taj can be a fairly productive backup big. i just thought it was worth noting that the guy he was guarding for most of the game absolutely went off
yea
not talking about you specifically, sorry if you took it that way
Yeah
he was talking about me and anyone who else didn’t wet themselves over a summer league game. I guess everyone needs to have enemies to be happy and then passive-aggressively comment about them everywhere.
Everything I post is speculation. I have no insider information nor ideas deemed concrete enough by those who are self-elected to regulate post content.
I was?
no offense, but I don’t know who you are…
I didn’t say we should be wetting our pants over a summer league game, I’m saying like or not Taj Gibson was a first round pick of the Bulls and since the summer league is known as the first opportunity to judge rookies against pro and aspiring pro level competition it makes sense to include some analysis of him in a main post about the game.
I thought you were referring to
the summer league game thread. Because that is where Taj/summer league has been talked about in the last day.
Everything I post is speculation. I have no insider information nor ideas deemed concrete enough by those who are self-elected to regulate post content.
no
just a general attitude around here I’ve noticed. I don’t really pay attention enough to who’s posting what as I should so I can’t really name names.
But I will say that Matt has seemingly written of Taj Gibson already because he’s “27”. Like I said, I understand people don’t like the pick but it doesn’t seem to add much to the site to just ignore his existence and balk whenever he’s brought up as part of the team.
I chose to ignore him
because it was an either/or choice for me, and I chose to focus on Johnson.
But in general, I really can’t bring myself to care what Taj does in summer league. He’ll hopefully rarely play, so he just has to be competent when he does. He should do very well in this league given that he’s a senior citizen there. :-p
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by your friendly BullsBlogger on Jul 15, 2009 11:24 AM CDT up reply actions
haha
if Taj is a senior citizen, what’s that make Linton Johnson? the living dead? I think he was a senior when I was a freshman at Tulane.
heh
well I’m CERTAINLY ignoring LJIII :)
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by your friendly BullsBlogger on Jul 15, 2009 4:16 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
you're going to be watching these bums
get minutes in the fourth next year for there “Kurt” like grittiness. So you better start paying attention to these studs.
by LoveForTheGame on Jul 15, 2009 6:27 PM CDT up reply actions
If Taj takes minutes away from the White Panther,
that will be good, right?
"Whoever was responsible for pulling that offer [to Ben Gordon] off the table...bring him before me and I'll punch him right in the face " - Frederick Pfeiffer
by Granny Waiters on Jul 16, 2009 6:08 PM CDT up reply actions
Matt didn't watch the game but if you go to the thread, there were a ton of people watching and...
you can follow along as the comments talk about both- as well as Augustine and the rest. Taj didn’t look bad, but he got torched on D. Alot of that was bc Randolph (who I was hoping the Bulls could have pried away from GS last year when they were low on him) was just on fire. And alot of the fouls were complete BS… but still…
Augustine looked really good. I’m not sure if it’s bc I was so surprised that he was mobile and had a really nice touch, or just bc the competition was so bad. We’ll see, but a few more performances like that and you have to consider him over Gray, imo.
Anyways, I don’t think anyone wants Taj to fail… most of the comments on here questioning that pick have been aimed towards picking another PF vs a guard at 26 in a guard deep draft. The fact that he’s 24 and there were known talents left on the board that we passed over doesn’t help. Other than that, we want the kid to do well. At least that’s how I think and see it…
Randolph and prying him away from GS
If Randolph doesn’t get playing time this year he might fire another agent.
They have a stacked roster with good players that do not make up a great team, they have Don Nelson, their owner wants to sell, and they’re wondering why Baron left and their stuck with Corey Maggette and his contract.
I think they make moves. I think it’s to create PT for Randolph.
12/31: Fire Vinny Del Negro.
by NBA Observer on Jul 15, 2009 11:04 AM CDT up reply actions
According to Sam Smith
Taj was whistled for 9 fouls…
I’m just going to go out and supply energy off the bench," said Gibson. "It was tough out there. They were calling fouls every time you touched him. (Randolph shot 21 free throws while Gibson was called for nine fouls as there aren’t foul outs after six). Randolph’s a phenomenal player. I learned a lot playing against him.
13-22 were Randolph numbers from the field
The problem was he got to the line 21 times and scored on 16 of them. I don’t put so much emphasis on that. I mean, when was Randolph drafted? He has more NBA experience, so it’s normal he abuses rookies who are still learning
he was drafted last year
and is 4 years younger than gibson. officiating in summer league games is notoriously horrendous though, so i’d be curious to see how many of the calls randolph got were gimmies
Gibson made that point
"I’m just going to go out and supply energy off the bench," said Gibson. "It was tough out there. They were calling fouls every time you touched him. (Randolph shot 21 free throws while Gibson was called for nine fouls as there aren’t foul outs after six).
Via Sam Smith
Yeah, I watched the game and most of those fouls on Gibson were petty.
He did pull down 7 Off rebounds and had a double double and I say that he actually fouled around five times.
hmm
13-22 is pretty damn good for scoring 42 points.
Not saying that it isn't
But I would like to see him get those numbers against better players. Not against the 24 pick of a weak draft and a player who is trying to get into a NBA roster…
I think
by a player who is trying to get on an NBA roster he meant Augustine.
by bigballa10 on Jul 15, 2009 11:08 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Randolph is the best player in Vegas
He’s also the fastest among the player 6’5" and taller. He’s pretty much an impossible player to guard with Summer League officiating.
I’ll watch the game later, but I’m guessing most of those 22 attempts were near or right around the rim.
12/31: Fire Vinny Del Negro.
by NBA Observer on Jul 15, 2009 10:13 AM CDT up reply actions
I saw the second half of the game and I was very impressed with JJ
It’s just the summer League, and has we saw last year with Rose, the way you play doesn’t mean much, but I liked what I saw. I’m gone actually say that, if Luol gets hurt again, I think the Bulls can play him and don’t lose much. At least he can create a shot and hit the 3…
I want to watch more
But my first impression is that Taj is a stiff and JJ is pretty skilled and has the physical talent to succeed, but will need to work on defense and controlling the ball in the pro game.
Quick rule of thumb for big guys in the summer league: If they’re routinely fouling out and throwing the ball away, they’re not going to be very good in the NBA. One game is definitely not enough to establish a routine though, so I’m withholding judgement.
I really have no confidence at all that
Summer League can be any judge of defense. The only thing I look for is if a player can keep his man in front of him for the backcourt players and if the frontcourt players can box out their own man and if that man is the shooter they can keep them from getting the offensive rebound.
Beyond that, Summer League is all about offense and trying to get to the rim.
12/31: Fire Vinny Del Negro.
by NBA Observer on Jul 15, 2009 10:18 AM CDT up reply actions
I seem to remember
A younger Jannero Pargo and Kareem Rush tearing up the summer league one year for the Lakers. It’s nice but take it with a grain of salt.
I liked what I saw from both guys.
Gibson surprised me with his defense. Had had a lot of nice blocks and seems like a pretty good rebounder. Has some post moves as well.
I don’t really care if somebody scored 42 on them…of course it’s not good but really defense is about help side and communication. It’s just hard to throw a bunch of dudes together and start guarding NBA talent. Plus I give them a pass being their first game.
I just liked that they showed they are capable of doing.
Johnson can score there is no question. He also has really nice hops when he made a cross over move and took it in for a two handed dunk. I was surprised how confident he was. I think both these players can play right away and will have to.
is this hell?
Lets not forget..
Its SUMMER LEAGUE!!!! I dropped 10 points on James Augustine and I didn’t even play!
"You never got me down, Ray. Ya hear me? Never got me down."
-Jake Lamotta
by The Red Menace on Jul 15, 2009 11:06 AM CDT reply actions
But seriously
James Johnson is one of the factors thats gonna make the next season a very interesting one for Bulls fans. I truly believe hes gonna make his presence known early!
"You never got me down, Ray. Ya hear me? Never got me down."
-Jake Lamotta
by The Red Menace on Jul 15, 2009 11:19 AM CDT up reply actions
With the dismissal of Timmy Thomas
James Johnson has an open door to become the new Nocioni for our team. I won’t go crazy after one summer league game, but I think Johnson could come off the bench and be an average offensive player.
The Chicago Bulls.....the more profitable Los Angeles Clippers.
As much as i liked Noc
The guy played out of control at times. I think Johnson will prove to be a BETTER THAN AVERAGE offensive player coming off the bench and if he gets his defensive game together he will definitely give
us a lot more versatility than Noce did.
"You never got me down, Ray. Ya hear me? Never got me down."
-Jake Lamotta
by The Red Menace on Jul 15, 2009 11:36 AM CDT up reply actions
Deng dont get your panties in a bunch, but it aint lookin good for you.....
JJ can handle the peal……(ball). Plus he’s more athletic than Deng and should be able to play the 3. I mean the potential starting line up come 2010-11 could be 1.rose, 2.wade, 3.Johnson, 4.boozer, 5.noah.
why not move deng at the 4...
when he´s not hittin his shots? Move JJ at the 3..and create havoc
I was watching the 1995 Playoffs VS the Magic's and remembered how much I hated Horace Grant. Horace Grant - i hope you burn in bball hell
Oh god please don't let Boozer be on the team in 2010-2011
I REALLY REALLY hope we have someone better and more reliable by then.
Don't rule out Lebron.
The East as a whole just got a lot tougher (and i’m not even talkin bout the Cavs)! If the Cavs don’t win it all next season (and they won’t) don’t be surprised if Lebron starts lookin at Chicago as a possible destination to play. You wanna talk about size and power? we’ll have that BIG TIME!!
"You never got me down, Ray. Ya hear me? Never got me down."
-Jake Lamotta
by The Red Menace on Jul 15, 2009 11:43 AM CDT reply actions
Don't get me wrong
I love Wade but between the two i would rather take Lebron!
"You never got me down, Ray. Ya hear me? Never got me down."
-Jake Lamotta
by The Red Menace on Jul 15, 2009 11:44 AM CDT up reply actions
nice recap
I was watching the 1995 Playoffs VS the Magic's and remembered how much I hated Horace Grant. Horace Grant - i hope you burn in bball hell
I watched the entire game...
and JJ looked very good. He tried to get a little to cute with his dribbling and turned it over but he seems to have a good feel for the game. He made some nice passes, ran the break well, good handle for his size, finished at the rim, and has a very nice stroke for outside. He doens’t appear to be a great athlete but he uses his size and skill to get where he wants to go. Reminds me a bit of Paul Pierce. JJ looked like the second best player on the court behind Randolf.
Taj had a nice game, but you can see why he was a late first round pick. He seems to be an energy guy with good length and really hits the offensive glass well. He missed a number of tip ins. Taj needs to get stronger if he’s gonna bang with bigs in the post. Has good hands and finishes well. He even had a very nice lefty jump hook over AR once…it didn’t look akward like Noah or TT. He should be a nice bench addition who could contribute over the next few years. I don’t really care if he’s old for a rookie…he has some polish because of it and should be able to contribute sooner because of his maturity and experience. Needs to get stronger though!
It was only one game in summer league but that’s what I took out of it.
When Johnson sheds the extra weight he's carrying and tones the rest of his body...
…then he can be one hell of a player. It’s only one game, but I figured he’d be a nice player. The kid just has a nice game. Was nice at Wake Forest. Although he played the 4, he displayed a high level of skill. But like I said when the Bulls drafted him, THIS is the guy who could make Deng expendable. If the Bulls felt Gordon was replaceable because there was a cheaper alternative, then if Johnson is indeed a nice ball player then in the next year or two Deng can ride out.
by lexdiamonds0730 on Jul 15, 2009 12:16 PM CDT up reply actions
Right there with ya. Belive it or not...
This is a GREAT time to be a Bulls fan! We get to watch the growth of a spectacular player (Rose), the developement of two promising rookies (Johnson and two a lesser extent Gibson). And theres the hope and expectaton that by the 2010-2011 season we will be looking at a championship roster that will continue the Bulls dynasty! Its all about GROWTH and HOPE and some teams don’t even have THAT!!
"You never got me down, Ray. Ya hear me? Never got me down."
-Jake Lamotta
by The Red Menace on Jul 15, 2009 12:14 PM CDT reply actions
I like hearing that Johnson "made great passes all night"
It was hard to gauge how good his passing was on 2apg in college, because of his college position (PF/C) and the way his teammates scored (Teague and Aminu can both create in isolation).
But 3 assists yesterday, and a glowing report on his passing from Thonus! We knew Johnson could handle, but if he can break down a defense AND distribute he can really help us.
FYI: Download should be available later
Games from 7/13 are the latest available as of now.
12/31: Fire Vinny Del Negro.
Here´s a video recap as well
I was watching the 1995 Playoffs VS the Magic's and remembered how much I hated Horace Grant. Horace Grant - i hope you burn in bball hell
More stuff..this time from poopsworld (man i love that term)
I was watching the 1995 Playoffs VS the Magic's and remembered how much I hated Horace Grant. Horace Grant - i hope you burn in bball hell
Good hear that JJ is hanging out with Derrick
what better way to break into the roster than being close with the flower child/ golden kid/ the future.
"What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know. It's what we know for sure that just ain't so."
worked well for Charles Oakley!
(not in the NBA, but still…)
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by your friendly BullsBlogger on Jul 15, 2009 3:21 PM CDT up reply actions
Nothing unusual for the Bulls
All in all, about the only negatives I could say about his game offensively is that he seemed to struggle to get involved off the ball, and that he looked pretty awkward in the post during the one post up attempt I saw.
He should fit right at home in the Bulls offense. Well at least he can hit a jumper, pass, and handle the ball well.
"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." -Sir Winston Churchill
Was Thorpe really unimpressed by Taj?
I thought he had a good first half, did he fall apart? I didn’t watch most of the game.
no matter how much taj impresses me
i’ll still be unimpressed knowing his age. He should’ve just lied about his age like some of the baseball players. Then I would’ve accepted him as a chicago bull.
by LoveForTheGame on Jul 15, 2009 6:29 PM CDT up reply actions
What does his age have anything to do with his age?
If anything, he’ll have more maturity to help him with the everyday grinds of a NBA season.
"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." -Sir Winston Churchill
Sorry, that's what does his age have anything to do with his play?
"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." -Sir Winston Churchill
He's older than everyone he's playing against
He’s going to peak physically sooner than most rookies in his draft class. He’s probably less apt to make dumb mistakes as much as a 19 year old rookie, but he also lacks the significant physical upside.
The Chicago Bulls.....the more profitable Los Angeles Clippers.
by Ozzie Montana on Jul 16, 2009 4:40 PM CDT up reply actions
Good point
The way the Bulls roster is filled with young, inexperienced players it’s not a bad idea to have someone who’s the polar opposite. I don’t know much about him, but he bring a differenet element to the Bulls’ game.
"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." -Sir Winston Churchill
The Toney Douglass-BG comparisons
don’t seem accurate. He’s struggled with his shot but has handled the ball and ran the team extremely well for the Knicks. They also say he’s a very good defender. He seems to be able to play the point much better than everyone thought.
Take a look aT THIS!!
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=nb9goa
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