Brooklyn Nets: Joe Johnson Still Overshadowed By His Contract
By Adam McGee
It’s been four years since former Atlanta Hawks general manager Rick Sund signed Joe Johnson to his current contract, and yet it seems it will never fully disappear from the consciousness of NBA fans. Johnson will earn over $23 million in the coming season, and as a result his play will be as scrutinized as ever.
The reality is that as Johnson’s career has progressed, he’s adjusted his game, grown smarter and wiser, and yet he rarely gets the credit he deserves. The 33-year-old is a quiet, affable individual though, and as a result he just gets on with it and plays.
This season, Joe Johnson will once again be one of the key figures of the Brooklyn Nets roster, as he has been in almost every team he’s been a part of. Having recorded over 17,000 points in his career, there can be little argument about Johnson’s value as a player, but it’s the combination of factors that make him as good as he is that are perhaps the most interesting.
From a skills point of view, Johnson is an old school, flat-out scorer. He’s not necessarily flash or explosive athletically, but he has a high basketball IQ that at times make it seem like he has complete control over the ball. When Joe Johnson gets in rhythm, there aren’t many guys who can compete with him.
Last January in London, Johnson had 26 points in a first half against the Atlanta Hawks. Then in May, in a win or go home playoff game against the Miami Heat, Johnson had 24 of his 34 points in the second half as the Nets just fell short.
That sort of player is rare in the NBA, and as a result incredibly valuable. Johnson is a good shooter, capable of scoring from inside or out, but even his skills in that regard have become more refined.
If we bring the clock back to the mid-2000’s, when Johnson’s scoring was at its peak, he was taking close to 20 shots per game. Last year that number fell to its lowest mark yet though, with the Arkansas native only attempting 12.9 field goals a night.
As a result, Johnson isn’t scoring in quite the same quantities as he did in the past, but then his game isn’t about volume any more. Johnson averaged 44.3 percent from the field last year, the third highest mark of his career, while from three-point range Johnson made 40.1 percent of his shots, his second best average from distance for his career.
Johnson is far from reckless, and his play always seems measured and calculated. That combined with his calm demeanor have helped to make Johnson one of the best closers in the league. Johnson is in a league of his own in the clutch, as he utilizes his terrific isolation play to create openings which he then calmly seizes.
He has a knack for showing up at the right time, when it matters, and I suppose in many ways that might tell the story of Johnson’s career. He times his runs for when his team needs him most, and clearly he timed his negotiations for his last contract as well as possible too.
That shouldn’t be something that NBA fans hold against him though. Any one of us would have signed that contract too.
As a player and a person, Johnson seems to be about much more than that though, and it would be nice if this year people would start talking more about his play, and less about his contract.