The Nuggets have only scratched the surface of Cam Johnson’s usefulness so far.
Two games into the preseason, his imprint has been relatively subtle, like how he manufactured an open 3-pointer for himself on Monday relative to how Michael Porter Jr.’s looks once materialized. Johnson was able to make a read, drive, kick and relocate, using his sure-handedness with the ball and acuity for spacing to generate a catch-and-shoot.
That’s the only 3-ball he’s knocked down so far this preseason. Johnson has scored 13 total points and two assists at a combined 5-for-9 shooting clip. His skill set is already contributing to a lineup that shouldn’t have any trouble producing quality shots. He just hasn’t played a premier role with the ball yet.
Not a concern for the Nuggets. In fact, Johnson’s fit with the starting unit was the least of coach David Adelman’s concerns coming into training camp.
“We’re just getting him comfortable. And Cam is one of those guys that plays for his teammates sometimes instead of force-feeding himself into the action,” Adelman said after practice Thursday. “Today was a good day for us to see them play live. I thought he was a lot more aggressive to come to the ball. We’ve gotta get him to his right hand more. I haven’t put in pet plays for him yet. But we’ll get there for sure. He’s a really special player in that you can plug and play him in a lot of ways.”
Among those options, Adelman said, will be using Johnson as a four in certain lineups. Denver hasn’t gotten to those lineups in a game. The 6-foot-8 sharpshooter has spent pretty much all of his minutes at small forward, the position he’ll play most of the season, assuming the starting lineup stays healthy. But like Porter did from time to time, Johnson’s size certainly makes him capable of shifting to a de facto power forward role occasionally.
For him, there’s really no difference.
“I don’t know if they consider me a four. I think sometimes I have ‘four’ attached to my name,” Johnson said. “It’s very funny to me. I’ve always played the same way. I never played the four until I got to the NBA in my life. I touched it a little bit senior year, package-wise, when we had a freshman that would come in that didn’t really know it. And I said, OK, I’ll do it because I know where to be. … The numbers don’t really mean quite as much as they used to.
“It’s not going to change where I am on offense. It’s not really going to change where I am on defense. I feel like I’m matched up across the board either way. It just means I have to crash the glass a little harder and maybe box somebody out a little more. … As long as I’m playing, you could call me a 27. As long as I’m out there, I’m fine. I love it.”
Rebounding is the one key statistical area where Denver’s trade this summer resulted in a deficit on paper. Porter has averaged five defensive boards per game for his career. Johnson has averaged 3.2. For a team that struggled giving away extra possessions on the glass last season, that margin could be important.
But it’s also a concern Denver expects to be eclipsed by Johnson’s IQ, ball-handling and defensive ability. He’s even catching on to Nikola Jokic’s tics as a passer already. Before the MVP center flung him a no-looker on Monday out of a back-down, Johnson was able to predict it because he noticed the glance Jokic gave toward him in the corner. “I should’ve made it,” he said of the ensuing shot. “My fault.”
The opportunities to launch those shots should increase soon, Adelman thinks. The Nuggets want Johnson shooting. They want him playing with the ball in his hands. First, he just needs reps to feel out the system.
“I think the way we play, it’s hard to guard,” he said. “You saw that we’re getting great, quality looks. The exciting thing to me is where I can continue to find more and more of those opportunities in the flow of what we do. And it’s not fully there yet. I’m still trying to figure all that out. But just playing, we’ll get there.”
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