There were a lot of people worrying about Cam Johnson. Except Cam Johnson.
After his 28-point performance on Saturday night, Johnson spoke to the media and brought the same answers to the table that he brought when he was missing shots early in the season.
“Everybody knows it’s a rhythm thing,” Johnson shared postgame. “I tell you guys all the time: sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t. I told you guys when I was missing them. I’ll tell you when I was making them.”
“But yeah, it does feel good to see them go down and kind of get the rhythm. The feel is getting better.”
Johnson isn’t wrong about that. If anything, he undersold just how often the shots are going in for him lately.
Since missing a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to a shoulder injury, Johnson has shot about 50% from three in six of the last seven games. He’s 23-of-38 overall, 60.5% from three in that stretch, by far the highest in the NBA among players to attempt at least 20 total three-pointers.
The Nuggets always knew Johnson would get back to form. Head coach David Adelman had to emphasize specifically that Johnson was taking exactly the kind of shots Denver was hoping for, and that they would go in sooner or later.
Well, the answer was clearly sooner, much to the benefit of the Nuggets.
With Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon suffering injuries, the opportunity for Johnson to work more directly with Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and the Nuggets offense was there for the taking. Before Braun’s injury on November 12th, Johnson had a usage rate of just 13.7%, far below average and below the standard he and the Nuggets hoped for.
Since returning on November 17th, Johnson’s usage rate has risen to 16.1%, which really only accounts for an extra shot here, an extra drive there. Nothing game changing. But the shooting efficiency has been ridiculous, a 77.0% True Shooting that nearly leads the NBA during that stretch as well.
Johnson is playing a variety of different roles with Denver. When Jokic and Murray are on the floor, Johnson is primarily a floor spacer and cutter. When Murray leaves and it’s just Jokic and Johnson, the two have run dribble handoffs and pick and rolls more consistently with each other.
Lately though, Johnson is taking on some responsibilities without Jokic or Murray on the floor, staggering with the bench unit as the only starter. He’s done pretty well too. In the 74 minutes Johnson has played without Jokic, his usage has jumped from 14.7% with him to 18.8% without him. Johnson’s three-point shooting without Jokic has been bad, but everything else has been solid, from drives to playmaking to defense.
It’s all a part of the process, and the Nuggets needed that process to speed up following the injuries to other starters. Pressure makes diamonds, and applying some pressure (more so the repetition in game) to help Johnson learn Denver’s system quicker has definitely helped the transition.
Johnson isn’t going to shoot over 60% from three going forward like he has over the last seven games. He will of course come back down to earth, and the Nuggets will have to find out how else to keep him involved and engaged. Playmaking responsibility is definitely part of it. Jokic’s style and nuances aren’t easy to read for a player in the first season next to him, and there’s a lot of room for growth between the duo.
In addition, Johnson and Murray will continue to develop chemistry too. Finding some opportunities for Johnson to set screens for Murray in the non-Jokic minutes (and setting up a ghost screen action) would go a long way in building something that’s playoff strong. That’s what’s great about Johnson. He can be deployed in any number of ways.
The growing won’t ever stop, but the progression is what matters. Cam Johnson is a better player for Denver heading into Game 20 of the season than he was in Game 1. Being even better in Game 40, and Game 60, and Game 82 are the next steps.
It’s a long road, but one that Cam Johnson has walked with patience and grace.
