Why Samson Johnson is primed for breakout year

[Palatine]

Watching him get totally manhandled by Edey in the championship game, I have my doubts about his strength to battle effectively in the paint against large 5s, and his inability to stay out of foul trouble (not to mention that one of his 5 fouls was an illegal screen, a foul that he was called for numerous times during the season....why can he not get that what he does when setting a screen while continuing to move is a foul!?)

Edey manhandled everyone including Clingan. The guy was complete beast.

 

[imno1]

Edey manhandled everyone including Clingan. The guy was complete beast.

And has a good chance of being the NBA rookie of the year

 

[EZPass]

Not a mic drop but a nice compilation of stops against Edey…

 

[Kenny11]

Samson is our most violent dunker since Stanley right?

 

[mauconnfan]

every pro samson post inevitably turns into this. I'll never understand.

Put some respect on his name.

I think everyone respects who he is and what he’s brought to the program. If you’re going to talk basketball and about each player the only inevitable thing is you will discuss strengths and weaknesses right? Otherwise why have the Yard?

 

[WhereistheDove?]

every pro samson post inevitably turns into this. I'll never understand.

Put some respect on his name.

On the other hand, anyone suggesting that SJ has some question marks to his game draws out folks like you that seemingly can’t admit he has any flaws. His ability to defend well and without fouling is absolutely fair game to discuss and very likely our largest question mark as a team. We all know he can be a huge mismatch off the pick and roll already.

 

[Waquoit]

...almost every pro Samson thread there is a portion of our fanbase who seemingly would think he does nothing but step on the court and foul out while trying to set screens and not covering anyone.

I'm with you. I concede he needs to foul less but only a couple unicorns do everything well. He's a big part of the team's success to date; his pros outweigh his cons by a ton. So why harp on them? We heard you the first couple of times.

 

[Husky68]

Cautiously optimistic and commendable that he’s stuck it out here when I’m sure he had offers elsewhere. But my expectations are about what they were before last season. He’s a valuable role player. It’s year 4, not year 2 or even 3. Ya kinda know what you’re getting…some highlight dunks, good rim protection and some incredibly dumb fouls/plays mixed in.

Wasn't Diarra year 4 last year? Seemed like a pretty good improvement to me.

 

[Kenny11]

I'm with you. I concede he needs to foul less but only a couple unicorns do everything well. He's a big part of the team's success to date; his pros outweigh his cons by a ton. So why harp on them? We heard you the first couple of times.

He’s best skills are so unique and drive opponents crazy. He rolls to the rim so fast and with such explosion that he draws an incredible amount of attention. Newton, spencer, castle and diarra got a lot of layups because defenders are paranoid about Samson getting a lob.

 

[uh-no]

On the other hand, anyone suggesting that SJ has some question marks to his game draws out folks like you that seemingly can’t admit he has any flaws. His ability to defend well and without fouling is absolutely fair game to discuss and very likely our largest question mark as a team. We all know he can be a huge mismatch off the pick and roll already.

Agree x100. I hate this "no shades of grey" crap.

He fouls like the dickens, but is ALSO a valuable asset to the team. He was an amazing complement to clingkong last year, but would have been even better if he could stay on the floor. If you're picking up a foul every 5 minutes on average, not only will you likely be unable to play 20 minutes most nights, but you're ALSO putting the other team on the line (or at least closer thereto).

SJ has a ton of value...has got two rings....but he can't best utilize that value if he can't stay on the floor...and at his current foul rate, Reed is going to be the premier big on the team.

 

[RuffRuff]

I'm with you. I concede he needs to foul less but only a couple unicorns do everything well. He's a big part of the team's success to date; his pros outweigh his cons by a ton. So why harp on them? We heard you the first couple of times.

Pros out weigh the cons in a bench role, not sure yet in a primary minutes role. One of his advantages was that we could build massive leads with Cling that made SJs minutes more of a breather. He had a lot of games with net negative even when we won big. That can’t happen in a primary role.