Chris “Whats his name now”?

Amir Johnson made Raptor fans forget about Chris Bosh for a night and posted a Bosh-esque 18 points and 13 rebounds with 2 blocks, all on a electric 8 for 10 shooting.  With his strong play Amir Johnson has given Raptor fans hope that the post-Bosh era will not actually be the doomsday scenario some pundits predict.

Amir Johnson has been an exceptional young talent since entering the league, and was destined to be a lottery pick in the 2007 draft when bad grades forced him to enter the draft in 2005, even though he graded out as no better than a 2nd round pick coming out of High School.

I have been clamouring for the Raptors to extend Amir Johnson since the off-season, but it was not to be, and Amir, much like Sonny has increased his market value as the season progressed and may have played himself out of the Raptors budget.

Amir Johnson, is still only 22 and is still pretty raw as a player, not that 18 and 13 would indicate, but he still has alot of room to improve on both ends of the floor. With his defensive skills and athleticism Amir is the perfect complement to both Bosh and Bargnani.

I was very excited when the Raps stole Amir Johnson, especially amid the Jermaine O’neal comparisons coming out of high school, and said from than that he is basically our Bosh-insurance and having him ensures we don’t have to big man crazy this summer if Bosh decides to bolt.

The Raptors lost another hard fought battle to the Hawks and look like they are one piece away from contending with teams like the Hawks…without Bosh.

Here are the highlights from the Raptors-Hawks game:

Here are Amir Johnson’s post-game comments: