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I, and I think a lot of other Raptor fans have been impressed with Amir Johnson off of the bench. He has a very good motor, puts a lot of energy into getting on the glass, plays tough defense and seems like a good teammate who knows his role.

More than anything, the fact that he knows his role is extremely important. Let’s face it; he doesn’t have a lot of offensive skill other than hitting the offensive glass, getting putbacks and dunking while open. In that sense, knowing what you can do and not do is really significant. Why not get the ball into the other very talented offensive players’ hands?

That, in my opinion, was lacking in another Raptors player during the preseason. Reggie Evans seemed very selfish with the ball, and there were instances where he would even attempt to dribble the ball down the court himself instead of giving it up. He also seemed extremely reluctant to pass the ball out of the post after getting an offensive rebound. He would take shots where he was covered by the opposing center AND another player. Often he would be fouled, but he converts free throws at a poor rate.

Johnson’s stats aren’t eye-popping at first glance. 4.4 points and 4.8 rebounds in 16 minutes doesn’t seem that impressive. Over 36 minutes, that translates to approximately 10 and 10, and he is shooting an impressive 62% FG% and an incredible 65% TS%. This is largely because he plays close to the basket and takes only very easy shots, but as I alluded to earlier, Toronto does not need its less offensively skilled players taking bad shots (which his FG% attests to). Obviously, his 7.1 fouls per 36 make him usable only sparingly, but there are already very few minutes left with Bosh and Bargnani playing so many. Compare this with Reggie Evans who has shot an unimpressive 44% FG% his past two seasons in the league. Forcing things that aren’t there can really take a toll on your efficiency numbers.

The rose-colored glasses aren’t on too tight, however, because fouling is obviously the biggest concern with Amir. Not only does it limit how many minutes he can play, it puts the team into the penalty much sooner when he is on the floor. I think the thing to remember is that Amir Johnson, even with those imposing-looking tattoos all over his body, is only 22 years old. 22! He was drafted right out of high school, and basically had to figure out which position he was going to play, and what his skill-set was. Detroit fans were all over Amir Johnson, because of his athletic body, and motor. However, after a disappointing season where he was pushed into the starting lineup, Detroit fans seemed to jump off the Amir bandwagon as quickly as they hopped on, and he was traded that offseason.

Detroit fans thought originally that he was going to be a 3 because he was very mobile and had a slight body a few years ago, but I think it’s pretty obvious what position Johnson plays now. Johnson is an undersized 5. He is strong, has long arms, is athletic and plays virtually all of his minutes in and around the paint, and his statistics heavily point in that direction. I think with a more defined role, and allowing him to make mistakes on the court his foul rate will start decreasing, and his confidence will grow and he will become more familiar with his teammates.

I think there is a certain chemistry between Amir and Marco Belinelli. Belinelli is a pretty imaginative passer, and has the ability to get the ball into a post player’s hands in a position to score. Amir provides solid picks for Belinelli, who has been very willing to drive and get to the basket. If we the Raptors can get some chemistry from our bench positions, I don’t think they should break that up with a selfish me-first player. Amir can give you the qualities that Reggie does off the bench, without the bad qualities Reggie has been known to display, and is younger.

My concern is that Reggie’s contract and veteran status might put him in the lineup at the expense of Amir, who has been fitting into that role very well off the bench, despite his penchant for fouling. That would be a damn shame, as it would deprive us Raptors fans from watching a fine young talent develop.