If you watched the Los Angeles Lakers play on Christmas Day, then you are well aware that their tilt against the Brooklyn Nets followed a theme that has dominated the season.
The game was extremely entertaining down the stretch but came with the caveat that a superstar by the name of Kevin Durant couldn’t play because of COVID protocols.
For Lakers fans, they also had the added familiarity of knowing Anthony Davis would continue to sit on the shelf with a knee sprain. This was a game they lost, despite a strong showing from LeBron James, and they will need to start picking up some wins quickly before the season gets away from them.
In amongst all of this, there was a hidden gem of a storyline, however, and that was Stanley Johnson literally saving his career on national television with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Stanley Johnson, a lottery pick as recently as 2015 by the Detroit Pistons, has been an afterthought in the league for years. So much so that he had been without a team up until the Chicago Bulls took a flyer on him with their COVID woes mounting, with Johnson failing to play for them because he himself then entered league protocols.
The Los Angeles Lakers obviously saw something in him as well, signing him to a 10-day deal to shore up their own roster. It took about three minutes for fans to realize that this is a guy they should absolutely hold onto for the rest of the year.
Whereas Isaiah Thomas has his obvious limitations, and Darren Collison retired two years ago for a reason, Johnson was a breath of fresh air.
He played with the kind of intensity that we just haven’t seen much of from the Lakers this season. This isn’t a dig either, Russell Westbrook is extremely intense, but it is just often misplaced.
Carmelo Anthony brought it against the Nets on both ends, but that is far from a guarantee. At best, if he can do that a couple of times in the postseason, that would be amazing.
He looked like a much better option than Wayne Ellington, and it was actually in all of the things that Johnson did not do, which showed his true value. This is a player literally clinging onto his NBA life. If this doesn’t work out, he’ll be overseas real soon if he wants to continue playing. Yet he didn’t try and force a single thing out on the court.
In possibly the most memorable moment from the whole game, Johnson had a chance at a wide-open three but instead waited a second before giving the ball to James.
He then barrelled to the basket for two points, in what was a critical time in the game as the Los Angeles Lakers chased the victory. Not one person watching could have blamed Johnson for taking that shot.
Johnson had already shown his defensive chops in the minutes played, and if he had managed to nail a second three-pointer (he hit one earlier in the contest) as well, it would only demonstrate his value further. He finished with seven points (Ellington had three) and was able to slide into his role within the flow of the team on both ends seamlessly.
The experience Johnson has had in recent years is sure to have been a humbling one. Being selected eighth overall, and to a Pistons organization that wasn’t really going anywhere at the time, Johnson probably felt he had the time and opportunity to get things right and be a hit in the league.
Instead, the Blake Griffin era came and went, and the Pistons started into another rebuild that already looks like it is going to be more successful than what came before it.
Stanley Johnson stuck with the Toronto Raptors for a spell, but you’re probably lying if you knew he played 18 times for the New Orleans Pelicans after that (because this writer didn’t…).
Saturday night represented Johnson’s first NBA game this season, and having seen how quickly the dream can come and go, even for a high pick, his perspective is sure to have changed.
He showed a kind of hungry that has been shockingly absent from this Lakers roster. You know, the one full of veterans who have accomplished so much.
Talen Horton-Tucker does a solid job most nights of being that in-between guy. Capable of getting a bucket and also playing with real desire. He clearly needs help.
There are many players who could have slipped into the opportunity presented in Los Angeles and played just as hard as Johnson did. What he did wasn’t something that we haven’t been before and that can’t be replicated by others.
Only it was he who got the call, and who took the chance with both hands. The Lakers would be crazy to not keep him around beyond his current 10-day deal, to see if he can infuse some energy to the end of their bench.
Even if they don’t (and that wouldn’t be a surprise), Stanley Johnson has probably given himself a lifeline. It being the season of giving, it was truly great to see.