Amir Johnson squares off against former team tonight, expects trash talk

Over the summer, the Celtics signed free agent Amir Johnson to a 2 year $24 million deal (2nd year non-guaranteed). The former Raptor was asked about Toronto’s interest in resigning him:

Johnson had played 6 seasons in Canada before signing with Boston, and tonight will be his first opportunity to compete against his old teammates. He seems to be looking forward to it:

The new Celtics big man made an immediate impact in his first contest in green, (unless you count Toronto's atrocious camouflage alternate uniforms) scoring 15 points on 6 of 11 shots and grabbing 7 rebounds. He also recorded 2 blocks and finished with a +/- of +16 on the night. He even hit a 3 pointer on his first attempt from long range. (Maybe a sign of good things to come?)

Even with the solid numbers off the bench, teammates and coaches consider Johnson’s box score production contributes little evidence to all the intangibles he brings to the game. Even ex-teammates are still glowing about his presence:

While I don’t believe Johnson’s departure to be the main reason, I do anticipate a hard fought match-up between these squads. Both of these teams are seeking the Atlantic Division crown and potentially home court in the playoffs, so you can expect they will look to make a statement early in the season. The game tips off at 7:30 ET and the C’s should look to take advantage and feed off their home crowd.

Photo Credit: ESPN.com

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