Miami Heat: James Johnson represents the position-less basketball era

Whether starting or coming off the bench for the Miami Heat, James Johnson’s versatility is a blessing in the modern-day NBA.

The 2016-17 NBA season was a coming-out party for James Johnson.

Having bounced around the league since being drafted in 2009, Johnson was intent on making his fifth team in the league a permanent stop.

And after being rewarded by the Miami Heat with a $60 million contract this summer, Johnson has to continued to excel in his role as a prototypical, modern-day player.

Through the first five games of the 2017-18 season, Johnson is averaging 14.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. Furthermore, he is shooting at a 54.7 percent clip from the field, while also averaging 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks in 28.7 minutes per game.

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Johnson’s ability to play all positions in the frontcourt, while also being able to bring the ball up the court to initiate the offense, makes him one of the more unique players in the league.

Such is his impact, here are some of the ancillary numbers Johnson has produced this season, and where they rank on the Heat roster:

Deflections: 1.8 per game – 2nd
Touches: 62.0 per game – 2nd
Screen assists: 2.6 per game – 2nd
Loose balls recovered: 0.8 per game – 1st
Passes: 45.8 per game – 2nd
Drives: 8.8 per game – 3rd

And it’s not just the numbers that have made Johnson one of the key pieces of the Heat’s rebuild.

His ascension since his arrival has been so pronounced that just prior to the start of this season, Johnson was named a co-captain alongside team stalwart Udonis Haslem and point guard Goran Dragic. As head coach Erik Spoelstra explained:

"“JJ was one the most special things that I’ve been a part of in my coaching career. To people on the outside it might have been surprising but when we actually named him captain it was a no-brainer. He has that type of voice, purity, intention and leadership qualities to take on that role,” he said.”"

For his part, Johnson expressed his gratitude with the honor:

"“It means the world to me that these guys voted for me to lead them, for them to follow me. I have great respect for them. Being the captain on this team don’t mean that I’m always saying what to do and everything I say is right. I also follow their lead, too. And I think that plays a big part in it.”"

The one notable downside of Johnson’s start to the season has been his perimeter shooting.

Through five games, Johnson has hit just 3-of-17 attempts from 3-point range for a 17.6 percent return. This follows up from his preseason campaign, where he hit just 1-of-18 from long range over six games.

These returns are a little surprising considering Johnson shot at a respectable 34.0 percent clip last season from downtown.

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But somewhat compensating for this has been Johnson’s returns from within eight feet of the rim. On 5.4 attempts per game, Johnson has shot at an incredible 81.5 percent clip, the best return in the league among all players who have attempted at least 5.0 shots per game from this area of the floor.

Johnson’s ability to not only handle the ball and drive to the rim, but also isolate and initiate the offense, makes him a significant handful for opposing defenses.

Thus far, Johnson has produced 1.54 points per possessions on 2.6 isolation possessions per game. Among all players who had averaged at least 2.5 isolation plays per game, Johnson has returned the best mark in the league.

Now at 2-3 having dropped their past two games, the Heat host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night in what shapes up as a crucial early season contest. Having started the season coming off the bench, Johnson has since started in the absence of injured center Hassan Whiteside in order to give the front line a more impactful start to the game.

Next: 2017-18 Week 3 NBA Power Rankings

With Whiteside’s immediate return still uncertain, the Heat are going to need Johnson to continue to impact the game on both ends of the floor as they try to reassert themselves in front of their home fans.