5th Most Important Piston: Amir “The 5th Starter” Johnson

"The 5th Starter"

What’s Going On World?

John W. Davis here.  My 5th Most Important Piston is Amir Johnson.  Amir made the top five!  Yes he did and deserves to because he is “only” 21 and is the “future” of the Detroit Pistons frontcourt. 

Since his promotion to the first shift, Johnson now gets the dubious designation of “The 5th Starter.”  It’s a title that he should not like and the Pistons need to drop ASAP if this team is going to get back to winning championships.

Follow me here: 

Since 2004, the Pistons have been comprised of a Big 4 + 1.  It’s always Chauncey, then Rasheed, then Rip and then Tayshaun.  The first plus 1 was Ben Wallace, an eventual scapegoat for ineffective post season play in 2004-2005 and 2005-2006.  They blamed him for all of the Pistons offensive shortcomings. 

In 2006-2007 the Pistons signed Chris Webber. He was Detroit’s own plus 1.  The hometown guy, who could take us back to championship and earn his first championship. Alas, he was injured, he was tired, he was simply past his prime.  That’s no fault of his but something was missing from Chris, his NBA Hall of Fame game.

In 2007-2008, the plus 1 was Antonio McDyess, a great veteran with a much better offensive game than Ben Wallace and “Number 84″, but his shortcoming was game-changing defense.  He was effective, actually better than average defender but McDyess just didn’t have the explosiveness of his youth to truly replace Ben Wallace on the defensive end of the court.

But now it’s 2008-2009, the season of Amir Johnson.  It’s his turn to try his hand at the 5th starter position.  A position that seems perrenially doomed. (Maybe the Big 4 should play 4 on 5.)  It’s his turn to be expected to have a defensive impact like Ben Wallace.  It’s his turn to be expected to have an offensive impact like McDyess did. 

Are these expectations realistic?  I don’t think so, nor does Coach Curry, but that won’t stop fans from having them.

They will say, but he is 6′11, and 230 now instead of the 6′9, 210 from his early seasons.  They will say, but I saw a box score where he had 6 blocks in 12 minutes last season.  They will say, I saw a youtube of him dunk from the free throw line in high school.  They will say that if he gets 25 minutes that he should average 12 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks because with half the minutes, he averaged half the stats.

I say that “The 5th Starter” is flawed from the tip-off because how can your contributions show up on the stat sheet when you have Chauncey, Rip, Tayshaun, Rasheed, Rodney Stuckey; all dominant in their own way… I hope you get the point…

This “5th Starter” can not show up like that.  So you had 6 rebounds instead of 10. So what?  So you only had 1 block instead of 3?  So what? 

I will evaluate Amir by looking at the team and I will say to myself, “John W. Davis are we better off when Amir starts and or plays significant minutes”?

My answer to that question will come from a simple equation, the Detroit Pistons 2008-09 record, Wins and Losses.

Peace,

John W. Davis

www.pistonscast.com