The play Cam Johnson spent last weekend stewing over was not a missed 3-pointer, not a blunder with the ball, not anything relating to his box score.
It was, all things considered, one of the more forgettable costly moments at the end of a Nuggets loss in Portland — a foul Johnson committed as Deni Avdija drove for a layup with 54 seconds left, sending him to the line to complete an old-fashioned 3-point play. The Nuggets still led by a bucket and had the ball afterward. But two days after it happened, there hadn’t been a new game yet to erase the memory, so Johnson was still bringing it up unprompted.
“Giving up that and-one to make it a two-point game, plays like that can’t happen,” he told reporters in a practice gym that had emptied out fast on a quiet Sunday afternoon. “I’ve been doing it too long to give up something like that.”
If that’s Johnson’s biggest regret eight games into the season, then it’s reflective of how the Nuggets feel internally about the beginning of their partnership with him. An error in judgment toward the end of a winnable game that Denver collectively coughed up? Sure, that stings. The overall lack of scoring production? Not a concern, “as long as we win, man,” Johnson said.
The Nuggets are winning a lot.
And that makes Johnson’s slow-moving integration into the offense more nuanced than underwhelming surface-level numbers indicate: 7.5 points per game in 26.5 minutes (before facing Indiana on Saturday), a 36% shooting clip and a 26% mark from 3-point range.
After he went scoreless on three shot attempts in a dominant 129-104 win over Golden State on Friday night, Nuggets coach David Adelman adamantly stood by him.
“His shot will fall,” he said. “If you stop and you backpedal and worry about numbers of certain people, then you’re not looking at the whole picture of who we are. … Cam is part of our team. Our team is 6-2. Our team has statistically been OK.”
Adelman’s modesty was dripping with sarcasm. The Nuggets have the top offense in the NBA at 121.9 points per 100 possessions. Their 2.24 assist-to-turnover ratio is the best in the league by a sizable margin. They’re shooting. They picked apart a Draymond Green-led defense Friday without needing a single point from Johnson, who contributed four assists without a turnover and whose plus-25 was the game’s second-best before garbage time.
“He’s getting good looks. We’re looking for him and stuff. I think it’s all part of the game,” Jamal Murray said. “Everybody knows Cam can shoot. If you go look at his career, he can shoot the ball. So he didn’t just lose his arm. It just comes with the game. … What was I my last three games? From three? Some bull-(crap), right? Exactly. That doesn’t mean I can’t shoot, right?
“So like I said, a couple bad games, a few bad games. Everyone knows what he’s capable of. I’m not gonna let that mean anything.”
The more challenging topic to parse than merely a shooting slump is Johnson’s general involvement in the flow of ball movement around Nikola Jokic. Johnson’s shot volume and his touches have been unexpectedly low for a player who carried so much offense in Brooklyn last season, averaging an efficient 18.8 points. The ball has gone through his hands considerably less than Denver’s other four starters so far.
“Figuring it out,” he said of his role this week. “Figuring out areas. Figuring out spots on the floor, where flow is, where actions are. It’s different. It’s obviously a different group. I’ve been saying it since day one for myself, but a group that’s played together a long time. … I’m trying to do what I do and make it work, but it’s definitely a work in progress for sure. But that’s part of being a pro, is figuring it out.”
Does Johnson’s usage even matter if he’s playing in a juggernaut lineup? Does the coaching staff have any obligation to call more plays for him when the five-man product is already this good?
Can the offense still grow healthier by flowing through him more? Or would it be risky to the overall synergy if Denver prioritized certain actions just to help a newcomer find his rhythm?
How much room is there to scrutinize Johnson for not calling his own number more frequently, when his deference has been justified by the team’s results?
“To get him going is one thing,” Adelman said. “For him just to play the right way is really all that matters. … I don’t know. I’d rather win games and do it efficiently and let people just work their way into what we do, and not worry about just one person.”
The first-year coach has been effusive about Johnson’s knack for relocation and natural feel for cutting. Intellect has always been synonymous with the former Tar Heel’s game. His presence, even if it’s only been a shadow, has made at least an impact on Denver’s spacing around Jokic.
“He doesn’t want to mess it up, so maybe he overthinks sometimes,” Jokic said. “Maybe he’s still looking for his shots, his looks. But that’s fine. I think that’s normal. He’s a smart player. He’s gonna figure it out. We need to help him, to encourage him to shoot the ball or drive the ball. But I talked to him. I told him, like, maybe it’s not going to be your night. Maybe you’re just going to have five points, and you need to be fine with that.”
That’s one attribute of Johnson that the Nuggets know they can always trust.
Other qualities, like his lethal jump shot, they’re patiently waiting for to catch up.
“Cam’s going to have a night soon,” Adelman said Friday, “and somebody else may not play a lot, and we’ll talk about their production. But who really cares if we’re winning?”
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