Miami Heat: Will the real James Johnson please stand up?

Following his breakout season with the Miami Heat, forward James Johnson has been rather underwhelming as he strives to recapture that hot form.

In describing his first two titles at the helm of the Chicago Bulls, Phil Jackson noted that “the first year was a honeymoon, the second year was on an odyssey.”

For the most part, that’s how it’s played out for Miami Heat forward James Johnson. Signed in the summer of 2016 to a one-year, $4 million deal, Johnson was almost on his last legs in his attempt establish himself as a legitimate contributor in the league.

Joining the Heat weighing 274 pounds, and having played on four different teams in eight seasons, Johnson knew his time was now. In response, Johnson dropped his body measurements to 238 pounds and 6.75 percent body fat as he became a vital component of a Heat team that reeled off a 30-11 record to finish the regular season.

In 76 games, Johnson averaged 12.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.1 blocks and 1.0 steals in 27.4 minutes per game. By demonstrating his versatility at both ends of the floor, Johnson was duly rewarded this past offseason by signing a four-year, $60 million contract.

Following this honeymoon period with the Heat, Johnson has unfortunately not been able to keep up the same standards, averaging 10.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 26.8 minutes per game this year. But it’s been Johnson’s approach on offense that has been somewhat perplexing.

After converting at a career-best 34.0 percent from 3-point range last season, Johnson is shooting at just a 29.1 percent clip from long range this campaign. In fact last season, if you discount his eight half-court fling attempts, Johnson converted at a 35.0 percent clip overall.

But the most noticeable drop-off has been his indecisiveness on the offensive end. After averaging a career-high 10.1 field goal attempts per game last season, this number has dropped to 8.3 per game. The following sequence is a prime example of the indecisiveness Johnson has demonstrated throughout the course of the season:

As can be seen, Johnson receives the ball on the move and enters the lane flanked by his direct opponent, Jae Crowder. Clearly, there is no shot-blocking presence at the rim as the floor has been spread with shooters, and center Hassan Whiteside parked out near the 3-point line.

First up, he has passed up a one-on-one opportunity at the rim against the smaller Crowder, only to dish to the corner to Josh Richardson, who was unable to get off the shot. As a result, Richardson pump-fakes and is forced to put the ball on the floor before passing it back to Johnson. Then with just four seconds left on the clock, Johnson is forced into throwing up an unsuccessful 3-point attempt.

Just recently, Johnson made mention of this trait of his game, when he told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald that he’s “swinging the ball to the other side and make the defense have to work.” While his rationale is sound, finding a balance is going to need to come quickly for both himself and the team.

Having seen this clip, it comes as little surprise to see this possession later in the game:

Having witnessed these struggles from Johnson, it’s somewhat inconceivable considering the same player is capable of plays such as this one earlier in the season. Furthermore, it’s amazing what confidence can produce:

https://twitter.com/World_Wide_Wob/status/921894461835239424

But these struggles aren’t news to Johnson, who recently relayed a message team president Pat Riley passed onto him:

"“Pat says, ‘Shoot the ball and be aggressive and be the guy who we brought back!’”"

The other noticeable change has been Johnson’s role in the rotation. While it certainly wasn’t a newsworthy move at the time, the decision to not re-sign forward Luke Babbitt this past offseason has wound up having major implications for Johnson.

While he was far from an irreplaceable piece, Babbitt filled a great niche last season as a prototypical stretch-4 in the starting unit, allowing Johnson to utilize his talents coming off the bench. Over the course of last season, Babbitt started in 55 games, with Johnson starting on just five occasions.

However this season, Johnson has already started in 22 out of his 44 games played. Here’s how the numbers compare:

• Johnson starting:  9.8 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 4.2 APG, 46.3 FG%, 19.6 3P%, 27.9 MPG, -33
• Johnson off the bench:  10.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 3.7 APG, 48.3 FG%, 37.7 3P%, 25.7 MPG, +19

The shooting percentages are the clear difference here, with the Heat reverting to Johnson coming off the bench a real possibility if head coach Erik Spoelstra’s recent comments are anything to judge.

Following their most recent loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Spoelstra couldn’t rule out a possible lineup change:

"“We’ll see, I don’t know. It’s easy to make snap judgements right now, but we’ll see.”"

Since returning to the starting lineup 11 games ago, the Heat have been 11.1 points per 100 possessions worse off when Johnson has been on the floor, with an offensive rating of 96.9 while he’s been on the floor certainly cause for concern.

Next: 2017-18 Week 16 NBA Power Rankings

In the meantime, for the sake of both Johnson and the team as a whole, finding a role in which the 30-year-old Wake Forest product can rediscover the form and confidence that propelled him last season is ultimately the ideal outcome out of these recent struggles.