Houston Rockets: Will Nick Johnson Make An Impact?
The Houston Rockets’ backcourt is situation is a bit of a question mark going into the next season. There’s a logjam of similar players taking up spots on the bench. After Patrick Beverley and James Harden, the Rockets are filled with slasher, shoot-first guards. We have shoot-first, undersized and unproven Troy Daniels. We have unproven slasher Isaiah Canaan. And then we have old and broken Jason Terry. This without even mentioning Nick Johnson, who is also an undersized combo guard.
That’s four players for two spots off of the bench. It’s looking like it will be Canaan and Terry being the primary backups with Daniels sprinkled in there to provide three-point shooting. It’s a pretty crowded area of the rotation and those three are all ahead of Johnson at the moment. The question really becomes if he will even have a fair chance at cracking the rotation and making an impact on the team.
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What does Johnson provide that the others don’t? Johnson can shoot well enough, but isn’t on the same level as the Jet or Daniels in the shooting department. He can dribble the ball well enough, but he can’t get to the basket like Canaan or Terry can. So, what does Johnson have? Defense. Johnson is a plus defender, especially for his height. He comes in at 6’3” with an incredible 6’7” wingspan and some amazing athleticism to go along with that.
So while Johnson isn’t yet an elite defender, he does project to be at least an above average defender. Although he is undersized, he can cover two guards using his athleticism and wingspan.
Of course, being a combo guard, most people would hope that he can develop into a point guard. That simply isn’t going to be realistic since most point guards need the ball in their hands to be successful. With James Harden being as ball-dominant as he is, there’s very little chance for Johnson to develop into a true point guard.
That leaves a much more realistic and obtainable goal for him: become a Bruce Bowen clone. And I mean that in the most flattering way possible. There’s value for the classic “three and D” players. Johnson would need to increase his outside stroke to be able to hit at least 35 percent of his NBA three-point attempts, while developing into a lockdown defensive player.
No matter how the offense is structured, defense and three-point shooting can by developed by just about any player who is willing to put in the work. Johnson has all the tools to be a dominant defensive presence. His value will be established if he can be solid contributor on the offensive end. Unfortunately, it’s looking like Johnson won’t have a regular place in the rotation. It’s simply too crowded for a player like him, especially with the Houston Rockets in the middle of a serious push to the top of the Western Conference. It’s looking like Johnson might get a stint in the D-league to get some playing time in the meantime.
Nick Johnson was a quality pick for the Rockets. You can’t get much more upside out of a second rounder than Johnson. Whether or not he pays off in the future will remain to be seen. For this year, it’s looking like he won’t get much of a chance to make an impact for Houston.