The question was posed in the message forum about who’s going to have the better NBA career when it’s all said and done, Jason Maxiell or Amir Johnson?
It’s fun to debate, but the greater treat is envisioning them in the same front court as a two-headed monster holding down the Palace for years to come. Plus, if Cheikh bulks up and develops…yeah, it could be pretty special. If/when that does happen it’ll also be another feather in Joe’s cap, grabbing his future’s front court in the same draft! (The same might be said about his future backcourt but that can be another Joe D. praising post. Darko who?)
For the sake of debate this is how I see it. If you had to give the nod to either player it’d have to be J-Max. He’s got a more well rounded game as we speak. He’s been the more fast tracked of the two due to him being the more ready of the two.
Maxy, or the OH-BEAST as I call him (pas it on), has really been impressing us lately with his shooting touch. We love it when he attempts to rip the rim off the backboard on his dunks but for him to be able to step back and nail the 15 footer has to give you warm fuzzies about the future of the front court.
Sure Max is undersized at 6′7″, but so was Charles Barkley who listed at 6′6″. I’d say things worked out pretty well for Sir Charles. I bring up Barkley because he and Max came into the league with similar type games. Both very explosive around the rim and great rebounders. They both neutralized their lack of height with timing, length, and scary leaping ability.
Barkley added a nice jump shot over the years to his arsenal and was able to parlay that into a league MVP in 1993. I’m not going so far as to say that Maxiell hitting from inside the arc consistently equals league MVP, but it’ll damn sure make him and the team more dynamic harder to stop.
As for Amir. Amir’s still so young and raw. Despite being in his third NBA season (being drafted by the Pistons with the 56th overall pick from Los Angeles’ West Chester High School in ‘05) it’s like this is his rookie season. Amir still won’t be able to legally buy a beer until the 1st of May. At least we know if we’re hoisting the O’Brien in the end he’ll be able to have more than just sparkling cider.
Amir’s strength’s right now are more on the the defensive side of the ball. Like Maxiell, he’s a leaper and has length. Amir’s a very talented rebounder and always makes the most of his playing time. If you take a look at ESPN’s Hollinger’s PER stats Amir ranks 14th in the entire league for rebounding efficiency despite averaging the 2nd fewest minutes per game in the top 50.
With his wingspan and 6′11″ frame (or 6′9″ depending on where you look) Amir is also a very qualified shot blocker.
The Pistons fans appreciate Amir because how enthusiastically he approaches the game. Runs hard, never he quits on a play. He’s also quick to crack a ear-to-ear grin on a job well done. You gotta love it.
Where AJ can use work is on the offense. His jumper, to me, is suspect. It looks like he shoots it from his chest. I speculate that because of his size and athletism he’s never had to develop a more sound J in order to dominate.
I’d like to see Coach ‘Sheed maybe work with Amir and get that shot up a little higher and mechanically tight.
I’ve also noticed his footwork could use some work around the basket. It seems like a lot of times when he gets opportunities around the cup the defense has time to recover and send him to the line. I’d like to see more and1 opps for the young fella.
Their you have it. My diplomatic approach to the question which of the two have a brighter future. Maybe you disagree? Maybe it was all just an excuse to photoshop Amir and Maxy’s heads on the two-headed Sesame Street monster? Either way I think we can all agree the best is yet to come!
Feel free to weigh in.
