Amir Johnson: Quietly going about his business as the Raptors most important player

As the Raptors finish up their 5th straight season without making the playoffs, much of the talk is about next year.  Will Dwayne Casey and Bryan Colangelo be back as coach and GM?  Can DeMar DeRozan and Rudy Gay play together?  How much will Jonas Valanciuanas and Terrence Ross improve over the summer?  Of all the players being talked about there is one name that never seems to come up - Amir Johnson.  For all the talk about Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan, Amir Johnson is by far the biggest difference maker for the Toronto Raptors.  Take a look at the team efficiency and four factors stats for both offense and defense when Johnson is on and off the floor.

Offensive Efficiency and Four Factors

Defensive Efficiency and Four Factors

As you can see from the numbers above the Raptors improve significantly on both offense and defense when Amir Johnson is on the floor.  What these numbers show is that when Amir Johnson is on the floor the Raptors have a good offense and a good defense and when he is off the floor they have a mediocre offense and a mediocre defense.  Kyle Lowry is the only other Raptor that improves the team both offensively and defensively but those improvements are nowhere close to the difference Amir Johnson makes.  You won't see the high flying dunks or game winning shots that you get from DeMar DeRozan and Rudy Gay.  You also will never see Amir Johnson sulk and complain to the refs when a call doesn't go his way like you see from Rudy Gay.  All you will see from Amir Johnson is production.