The Resurgence Of Amir Johnson

Over the past 10 games, Amir Johnson has been averaging 8.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game for the Boston Celtics. He is starting to play his best basketball of the year at the right time.

Amir Johnson has definitely received a fair amount of criticism this season, but over the past 10 games he has been playing with a never-ending motor and fire on both ends of the floor for the Boston Celtics. Johnson is not going to turn heads with his statistics, but if you watch him night in and night out you will be impressed by his defensive prowess and finishing ability near the rim.

He is shooting 69.8 percent from the field over his past 10 games, and he has recorded three double-doubles over this 10-game stretch (only recorded five double-doubles before this stretch).

Johnson is getting it done on both ends of the floor and the Celtics have gone 7-3 during this stretch. Players had to step up while Jae Crowder was out and Johnson was one of the players that did so. Johnson has been playing a lot more recently as well, over the past 10 games he is averaging 26.7 minutes per game (averaging 22.9 for the season).

He is starting to help out on both ends of the floor and the Celtics are going to need him to affect the game on both ends in the playoffs because he is their only true rim-protector.

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Johnson is No. 1 on the Celtics in overall offensive rating (116) and he tied for third on the team in overall defensive rating with  Crowder (102). Johnson is definitely becoming the most valuable forntcourt player on the Celtics because of his ability to defend just about anyone in the paint and because he can step out and guard power forwards around the perimeter.

If you watch Johnson play man-to-man defense, it is truly a treat. He knows how to move his feet and stay in front of the player he is guarding.

Johnson has become more of a two-way player for the Celtics because he scores efficiently in the paint. He is not a great three-point, mid-range or free-throw shooter, which is why he normally sticks to scoring on the pick-and-roll towards the basket. He is also extremely good at finishing in transition, which is something that makes the Celtics very dangerous.

Overall

Johnson is no longer a player that is just going to start the game for the Celtics and not play many meaningful minutes after that. He now deserves to be playing for the Celtics at important points of the game because of his ability to affect the game on both ends.

One thing to watch for in the playoffs is that Johnson is a poor free-throw shooter (55.7 percent), so teams might foul him on purpose to send him to the line. If that happens often and he is not making his free-throws, then coach Brad Stevens will probably take away some of minutes.

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The bottom line is simple: Johnson has silenced many doubters over the past 10 games and he should be able to help the Celtics win a playoff series or two. Jae Crowder and Isaiah Thomas are certainly keys to Boston’s success in the playoffs, but Johnson is also very important because of his two-way play.