Miami Heat: Is The Team’s Power Forward Of The Future Already On The Roster?

The Case For James Johnson

Miami’s James Johnson signing was considered an afterthought nationally. After all, he was coming off a season where he played 57 games while averaging 5.0 points and 2.2 rebounds. DNP-CDs littered his game log from 2015-16, and he only saw action in half of the Toronto Raptors’ 20-game playoff run.

Not even the staunchest Johnson supporter could have foreseen the resurgent season he was about to have.

Miami Heat

The Heat’s backup power forward is currently setting career-highs all across the board, scoring 12.8 points per game, to go with 4.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.1 blocks. He has also gone from being a non-threat beyond the arc to someone you probably shouldn’t leave open; Johnson is converting a healthy 35.1 percent of his 3.3 nightly three-point attempts.

He’s not just putting up empty stats, either. Johnson’s advanced metrics are probably even more impressive.

Among reserves, he ranks first in defensive win shares with a 3.1 clip. That also puts him ahead of guys like future All-Defensive First Team stud Andre Roberson and shot-blocking extraordinaire Serge Ibaka. Additionally, Johnson places 37th in Value Over Replacement Player (VORP) at 2.5, a higher mark than perennial All-Stars Demar Derozan and Klay Thompson.

Moreover, among players who have defended at least 40 isolation attempts, Johnson is second league-wide with 0.50 points-allowed-per-possession. He’s in the 98th percentile of the NBA in that facet.

Overall, Miami has a +3.8 net rating with him on the floor. It’s somewhat surprising that it took this long for Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra to shift the veteran big man into the starting lineup. The move only came when the actual starter, Luke Babbitt, suffered a hip flexor.

Over the past week, Johnson has certainly done his best to make up for lost time.