Brooklyn Nets: 5 Reasons Why The Season Can’t Be Salvaged
By Tom Firme
The Joe Johnso Wall
Effectively, Joe Johnson has hit a wall. The 34-year-old shooting guard has his lowest scoring per 36 minutes (11.7) since his rookie year while putting himself on track for career lows in field-goal percentage (34.5 percent) and three-point field-goal percentage (27.1 percent). Johnson’s 14 percent turnover rate is the second-worst in his 15 pro seasons.
One can credit Johnson for easing off. He’s taking 11.9 shots per 36 minutes and holds an 18.5 percent usage rate, both of which are the second-lowest of his career. Also, he’s dishing out 3.9 assists per game, his highest mark since 2010-11.
That follows the goal he described in the above YES Network interview, saying he wants to “just come out and be a great teammate, not necessarily scoring a lot of points, but to make guys around me better.”
Johnson has conceded he’s not the same scorer he once was by hinting he feels he can help the Nets more by passing, telling the New York Post’s Fred Kerber he’s “just trying to help this team win. We all have a role on this team and we have to play it to the best of our ability. I’m just trying to do my job.”
Others, like Hollins and Brook Lopez, told Kerber they feel Johnson, who has averaged 20 points per game five times, can pressure defenses more by attacking as a scorer.
But if Johnson, who said he can’t diagnose his shooting woes, feels he can best help Brooklyn’s offense as a facilitator, there’s not much for which the Nets can wish of him.
He spent most of his career slashing foes with his scoring, but those powers have left him.
Next: Suffering Through Jack's Blues