All season long, James Johnson has proven to be a versatile player who can do it all on both ends of the floor. While nothing has changed in that regard, Johnson showed his versatility in a different way by seamlessly transitioning into the starting lineup this past week. The burly forward more than made up for the absence of Luke Babbitt and came up big down the stretch in Miami’s two victories over Charlotte and Washington.
What’s more, Johnson ranked second on the team in points (21.0), rebounds (8.3) and steals (2.0) per game over the past three contests. He also led the HEAT in shooting percentage (55.8 percent) during that stretch.
Of course, his defensive prowess was also on display this past week, as the 30-year-old held the opposition to 4.5 percentage points less than their usual field goal percentage.
Although Johnson’s best statistical performance came against the Hornets on April 5 when he scored 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting, including 6-of-7 from downtown, he put Miami up for good with a nifty finger roll late in the fourth quarter against the Wizards on April 8. Check out some of Johnson’s best highlights from this past week in the video below.