I am going to suggest we keep Amir Johnson on for playoff roster as the twelth man. I know he is not as polished as JMax or even Acker. It is just I don't think J Max can help over a 5 minute span like AJ can. His defense and hustle are incredible. Just his energy and athletism could help for a few precious minutes especially if there are foul problems. I think don't he is a savior just has more useful short term NBA skills for a championship run. Acker no because Delk is redundant. If Cato is still on IR then Johnson should get the nod. I am probably in the minoirity but I thought I'd put it out there for debate.
Another big game for our rooks. Looks like Amir is now starting. Cleaves must be injured (DNP)...AJ didn't start at PG but played a very effective 40 minutes. Box score
this is great, fayetteville goes from the worst team, to winning 4 of 5 since our rooks went down there. tonight: johnson - 21 points on 9/12 shooting, 5 boards 2 assists 1 block in 27 minutes acker - 23 points on 8/15 shooting, 5 boards 8 assists 3 steals 1 block in 40 minutes (and only 2 TOs) so far through 5 games: acker is shooting 45% (43% 3-pointers), and 94% (16/17) from the line johnson is shooting 60% (100% 3-pointers), and 92% (23/25) from the line that's nuts!! 23/25 from the line for johnson? a forward? i'm liking the sound of that
Well we know Amir ain't no Ben on the stripe. Would really like to see if he's cleaned up his shooting form from outside. I've gotta check the archives but I think we have Amir's rights for two years and can match any offer as long as we have the MLE available on his contract year... This is not the case for Acker... we have to be careful that he doesn't blow up in the D-League where there could be some stiff competition trying to re-sign him next year.... don't be surprised if A.A. lands back on our bench soon.
I'm suprised Amir managed a solid game. He picked up 3 fouls halfway through the 1st quarter, so I thought he was going to have an uneventful game. But listening to the 2nd half, he had an array of hook shots, layups, and a couple dunks from Acker dishes.
"I like that kid, Acker," said Toros coach Dennis Johnson, the Boston Celtics great who played at Pepperdine in the early seventies. "I've followed his career for a while, watched him a lot on TV. He's silky smooth and he plays with a lot of confidence." That's it... get his ass back over here on the bench... we don't need other teams liking him a lot {:^)
patriots win again. not the best free-throw numbers from acker and johnson (1/5 and 1/4), but another good game. i listened on the link from nba.com ... it's funny because they keep the recording w/o commercials so you can hear the guy when he doesn't think he's live. acker 6 assists to 2 turnovers, 3 steals. johnson 2 steals and 3 blocks. the story was the last 30 seconds though. the game was close - could acker and johnson play well under pressure and pull out the win? here's how it went down in those 30 seconds: - johnson blocks a shot - don't remember - johnson blocks a shot - with 6 seconds left and the patriots up by 3 and their opponent looking to foul on the inbounds pass, somehow acker finds johnson who breaks for an open dunk with 1 second left. game over. i'd say they passed that test, eh?
How is Cleaves in the DL? Isn't he a "veteran"? I mean, does that mean we could send DD down there to get in game shape? I mean... what the...?
Thanks for the update WH, we can use all the eyes/ears we can get. I know PF22 has also been keeping close tabs on these guys... might be worth having our southern posters take a look at the Patriots schedule to see if they're coming to a town close by... Things I would like to find out: Is Amir's perimiter shot coming around or is it most dunks at put backs How well is Acker staying in front of his man (especially when @ PG) Is AJ able to hold his ground against physical PF like fizer (just called up) Both Handling pressure situations (thanks again WH)
Mateen is down there cuz he was cut from the league. If we wanted Dale to go down there, we'd have to waive him.
Patriots lost by one point... Acker is now starting... pretty good game with 29 pts... Amir came up big tonight Box score
Both guys are playing well, but Amir Johnson is putting together some eye-opening numbers. 18 ppg, 7 rpg, 2 blocks, .632 from the field. For an 18-year-old kid playing against guys anywhere from 2 to 5 years older, that's pretty remarkable. Plus he seems like a kid with his head on straight, happy to be playing ball for the Pistons no matter where it is.
Where have we heard this before?... just makes ya wonder how much more advanced DMC would have been with steady D-League play...now he's 20 playing his rookie year. Back to our kids.... yes this is very impressive... a lot of their competition was drafted in the 2nd round... some 1st round... just shows how deep last years draft was with all of the HS kids coming out because of the new CBA.... I would bet that Amir would be close to the lottery in the next draft. I say Joe should trade the Orlando pick for a 2nd rounder:P
Patriots win again: http://www.nba.com/dleague/games/20060317/TULFAY/recap.html http://www.nba.com/dleague/games/20060317/TULFAY/boxscore.html "The teams stayed close the rest of the way until the 2:43 mark of the fourth when Acker took over. With the score tied at 104-104, he hit a short jumper, then stole the ball and fed Rickert for back-to-back layups. He then set Johnson up with an alley-oop slam and followed with a pair of free throws that made the score 114-104. The 66ers couldn't recover from the run. " Acker - 48 mins, 25 points, only 6/20 FGs and 0/5 from 3, but 13/13 from the line with 8 assists to 2 turnovers, 5 boards, 4 steals, and only 1 foul Johnson - 31 minutes, 24 points on 9/13 FGs, 5 boards, 1 block
