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Amir Johnson Falling Behind Early

By Joshua Bateman

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Amir Johnson was the Boston Celtics‘ prized free agent acquisition. The Celtics are spending $12 million a year on him and he has already been recognized by the coaching staff for his work in practice. And yet, somehow, it appears as though Johnson may be falling behind in the tight front court races.

It’s an unfortunate circumstance but missing the game against Real Madrid due to an illness will certainly hurt him. The Celtics’ lineup is riddled with uncertainty and the only way to truly carve out a significant role is with results on the court.

Missing the second game would be less concerning if Johnson had been more impressive against Milano, or if the rest of the front court had been less impressive in the two games.

Minutes wise, Johnson was significantly behind only David Lee. Lee has clearly left the strongest imprint early on this preseason and he has been rewarded with the most minutes. He has then done a phenomenal job taking advantage of those minutes.

Sep 25, 2015; Waltham, MA, USA; Boston Celtics forward David Lee (42) during media day at the Boston Celtic Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Johnson, on the other hand, has been arguably the least efficient player fighting for a front court starting position. Johnson had fewer points than Lee, Tyler Zeller and Jared Sullinger. Fortunately, he only needed 4 shot attempts to score those six points. The flip side is then that none of those bigs shot under 50% for that game.

Johnson may not have been too far behind and his 5 rebounds were a solid boost but he missed out on another opportunity by missing the Real Madrid game.

Sullinger may be the only one who took a step back in the game against Real Madrid but any competition between Johnson and Lee is starting to look one sided. Lee continued to get 20+ minutes per game in the second game and he was actually more effective scoring, while getting contributions rebounding and assisting the ball.

It’s unfair to used a missed preseason game against Johnson but the starting lineup may start to look like a distant wish for him. Lee is clearly taking command this offseason and the experience he has on the team also gives Jared Sullinger an edge.

Johnson’s best option may wind up being at the center position. Olynyk has been much less effective shooting a total of 5-11 for 11 points. Zeller has done a better job than Olynyk but still has not found any kind of volume production. Zeller has been better than Johnson thus far but the gap with him may not be as large as with the power forwards. Zeller is 7-11 for 17 points and has maintained his incredibly efficient play.

The problem with Zeller may be the same as last year and even if he starts over Johnson, Zeller may be the one most likely to sacrifice minutes for Johnson.

The good news for Johnson is he missed an early enough game that he can make up any lost ground. Johnson has been praised by Stevens early on in camp and even if he is not getting the kind of minutes that the other expected starters are, a significant role still cannot be ruled out.

The root of the problem for Johnson is less about his inability to play and it is more about his competition stepping up, Lee in particular. The Celtics are in a position where Lee may be the best overall option for the team and Johnson has done nothing so far to suggest he can be at that caliber.

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