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Amir Johnson broke into a smile the moment Jose Calderon’s name was broached, eliciting a reaction that briefly relieved some of the discomfort in Johnson’s left knee. Calderon had that soothing presence during his time in Raptorland, a tenure filled with playoff appearances, trades that would get nixed, three coaches and what seemed like a perpetual drama at the point position. “A great teammate,’’ beamed Johnson of Calderon. “He definitely gave me some buckets. He was a fun guy to be around. At least for me, I thought he was funny because of his accent. “A great guy, a motivator who was big for this team.” Toronto Sun

Toronto Raptors, Trade, Jose Manuel Calderon, Amir Johnson 

Ross could not crack the Raptors’ small lineup down the stretch, with DeMar DeRozan, Landry Fields and Alan Anderson each playing ahead of him. Valanciunas played a few fourth-quarter minutes with Amir Johnson in foul trouble, but came out in the final stretch. Kyle Lowry’s four final-minute points won the game for the Raptors. “I had to get Jonas out at the end, bless his heart,” Casey said. He said, ‘Coach, [Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson] is coming really fast.’ I said, ‘Guess what: All of them are coming fast.’ … Everything is so fast for rookies. I don’t care who you are, what level of rookie you are: It is a learning experience. National Post

Toronto Raptors, Kyle Lowry, Amir Johnson, DeMar DeRozan, Landry Fields, Alan Anderson, Jonas Valanciunas 

Head coach Dwane Casey was also disappointed in the officiating, particularly the non-call on Johnson. "I hope the league looks at that last play of the game when Amir Johnson gathers the shot going up," said Casey. "I don't know who he's passing to, but I just hope they watch it. I hope they watch it. "That's all I'm going to say about it, because it's a very questionable, marginal call at the end of the game." Casey then added: "We'll see what the ruling is." cbc.ca

Toronto Raptors, Dwane Casey, Amir Johnson 

On Thursday, Johnson uploaded a photo of his new haircut to his official Twitter account. Shaved into the back of his head, as you can see above, is the Raptors’ dinosaur claw logo. After posting the photo, Johnson took the pleasant extra step of shouting out his Toronto- based barber. Johnson was already sporting a Mohawk, so this just takes it up another notch. SI.com

Toronto Raptors, Amir Johnson 

Toronto center-forward Amir Johnson was suspended for one game without pay by the NBA on Tuesday for throwing his mouthpiece at a referee in the Raptors’ loss at Portland on Monday night. Detroit Free Press

Toronto Raptors, Amir Johnson 

If you had asked me which of the Raptors would throw a mouthpiece at a referee I would have had to go far down the list before I got to Amir Johnson. That was so totally out of character it’s not even funny. But out of character or not, you cannot throw things at officials, and you can’t hit them with what you’ve thrown and you can’t get to the point where you’re physically restrained from going after him. Toronto Star

Toronto Raptors, Amir Johnson, Referees 

I am not at all laying the blame for this totally at the feet of the new starting point guard but I’m wondering where all this “leadership” and “grittiness” stuff we heard so much about has gone. There is more than enough blame to be spread around but I thought – and was told – that Lowry had one of those “screw this, I’m getting us out of this funk” attitudes in him. Toronto Star

Toronto Raptors, Kyle Lowry, Amir Johnson, Referees 

Amir Johnson was ejected from a Monday loss to the Blazers for tussling with referee David Jones over who could hold the basketball in between free throws, and after throwing his mouthpiece at the official on his way off of the court the Raptors forward told reporters that the exchange wasn’t becoming of two grown men. “I think [it was childish] between both of us,” Johnson said. “We were both wrestling with the ball. That was kind of childish. We both either could of let it go or anything. That part was childish. Plus, on my part for reacting that way.” SI.com

Toronto Raptors, Amir Johnson, Referees 

“I think it was just real childish,” Johnson said. “It was something that didn’t need to happen. I lost my cool. I apologize on that part. I’ve never been kicked out of a game before or been teed up like that.” SI.com

Toronto Raptors, Amir Johnson, Referees 

“He turned his back, I really wanted to know what happened,” Johnson explained. “Nothing was said. I lost my cool right there. I never had any problems all the eight years I’ve been in the league. I never argued with a ref or did anything wrong. From there, I just lost my cool.” Johnson had to be escorted off the court as he continued to dispute the series of events. SI.com

Toronto Raptors, Amir Johnson, Referees 

“I think I threw my mouthpiece. I don’t know if anybody got hit, I apologize for that,” he said. “I’m going to accept the consequences. Whatever happens, happens. I apologize if I hurt anybody or I did anything wrong. It is what it is.” SI.com

Toronto Raptors, Amir Johnson, Referees 

NBA players love Christmas trees, too, obviously, and make sure to get their own every December. But I highly doubt that many will challenge the tree of Toronto Raptors forward Amir Johnson in terms of sheer size. On Thursday night, the 6-9 Johnson posted this photo to Instagram (via SLAM), in which he places the crowning star on what appears to be the biggest tree on the whole Toronto lot, if not in Ontario as a whole. Oh, and he also did so while perched precariously on a ledge near the top of this room. I doubt his Raptors contract has any provisions against trimming trees from large heights, but something tells me the team won't be too happy about this one. Yahoo! Sports

Toronto Raptors, Amir Johnson 

Toronto Raptors forward Amir Johnson seems to have a keen understanding of how the Internet works. Johnson posted a slightly terrifying image of his huge Christmas tree on Instagram last night, as he dangerously added the final decorating touch. SLAM

Toronto Raptors, Amir Johnson 

Amir Johnson asked the fans to pronounce the name of his new teammate. He uploaded the video for everyone to see on his YouTube channel called Amir TV. And you, do you know how to say "Jonas Valanciunas"? TalkBasket

Toronto Raptors, Amir Johnson, Jonas Valanciunas 

Well, he’s had a cartoon Amir Johnson face that looks like Andre 3000 put on his shoes and now his jacket. The next logical step is a pair of pants, but after that anything is fair game. Socks, underpants, an ascot, a tattoo of his cartoon face on his actual face — the sky is the limit. When you’ve got a smile that charming, you might as well put it on everything. The Score

Toronto Raptors, Amir Johnson 

Those right there are Amir Johnson’s custom Nike Huarache 2K4s. How do I know, besides the fact that I am the one writing this and therefore can control how things will end? It’s simple — his face is on them. Really. The Score

Toronto Raptors, Amir Johnson, Sneakers 

The annual Toronto Zombie Walk celebrated its tenth anniversary this past Saturday, but it was a first for Johnson. ”I had so much fun at Nuit Blanche, the art thing, so I was like, let me try the zombie deal,” he said after Sunday’s practice. “I was excited to do it and I might have some plans next year to do it again.” Johnson, who said The Walking Dead is his favourite TV show, went full out by hiring a professional makeup artist to spend an hour on a truly authentic undead appearance. Raptors.com

Toronto Raptors, Amir Johnson 

Did the makeup pass the test for the six-foot-nine forward among an expected crowd of over 7,000 wannabe walkers? “Nobody recognized me,” said Johnson. “Maybe two people that kind of recognized me and they were just standing there like ‘that’s a tall zombie. Wait a minute, are you Amir?’ and I’m like ‘No, I’m not Amir. Nooooo.’ It was pretty awesome.” Raptors.com

Toronto Raptors, Amir Johnson 

Amir Johnson: HA! @bonjovi loves the raptors #bigup Twitter @IamAmirJohnson

Toronto Raptors, Amir Johnson, Jon Bon Jovi 

Who is your favourite teammate ever? Amir Johnson: I’d have to say Rasheed Wallace. He’s a funny guy, man. A very wise man. A funny guy. That’s all I can say about ‘Sheed. He’s the one I kind of looked up to when I was in Detroit. He was just a good guy, kept everyone laughing. National Post

Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, Rasheed Wallace, Amir Johnson