The recently crowned Sixth Man of the Year has struggled in the playoffs, averaging less than 10 points per game. In Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, he contributed only six points on 25% shooting. After the Spurs have fallen behind in bench points in every game, their greatest spark on the bench needs to reignite to help deliver the Spurs to the NBA Finals. What is stopping Keldon Johnson?
What is Wrong With Keldon Johnson?
What Made Keldon Johnson the Spurs’ Secret Weapon This Season
“I had averaged 22 points in the NBA. I’d won a gold medal with Team USA at the Olympics. So I just didn’t understand,” Johnson said in response to a recent question about being benched in 2023. The forward nicknamed the “Big Body” had at the time seemingly lost his place on the team. After several seasons of being a wrecking ball in the paint, future star Victor Wembanyama was drafted to the team and changed everything.
Developing Wembanyama into their ultimate franchise player became the key goal for the Spurs. Johnson’s aggressive and high-volume paint scoring quickly lost its place on a team focused on taking as many 3-pointers as possible and scoring quickly. After losing his place in the offense and the starting lineup, Johnson struggled.
Fast forward and Johnson has not only become a problem for other teams off the bench, but he is sneakily covering up one of the Spurs’ biggest weaknesses. Whenever Luke Kornet or Wembanyama can’t take the court, the Spurs deploy their small-ball lineup. Johnson offers the Spurs a great forward who can shoot and, more importantly, rebound over bigger opponents.
The “Big Body” is also offering the Spurs his best shooting year from beyond the arc since 2022. Coming off the bench has not just helped Johnson become more efficient; it has also taught him to be a better off-ball player. His ability to play off-ball and be ball-dominant helped him to have his best season efficiency-wise since he was a rookie.
What Is Stopping Johnson?
In Game 4 of the West Finals, Johnson had the worst lowlight despite a dominant team win. Wembanyama found him in the corner for a contested three. Johnson pump-faked the defender and shot a contested three that hit the side of the backboard and ended up going out of bounds.
“Maybe he’s in his head a little bit, but I think just what he’s been for us all year is what we need him to be,” said teammate Stephon Castle, who has had a strong postseason. Johnson has struggled especially against the OKC Thunder, who have been able to block him and force turnovers from him on multiple occasions.
Going into the fifth game against the Thunder, Johnson will need to play better. “This is the biggest game of the season right here tonight,” he told Sporting News. After the Spurs tied the series on Sunday, winning tonight will be pivotal if they want to avoid a Game 7 in Oklahoma.
It seems that the intensity of the playoffs has made Johnson start overthinking what his role is on the team again. Some nights he is overly aggressive in the paint, and some nights he only has a few shots from 3-point land. For instance, in Game 3, he made only one shot from beyond the arc.
Clearly, Johnson needs to be the versatile player he was earlier in the year. His smart decision-making and veteran-like play off the bench were what won him Sixth Man of the Year. Now, he needs to prove that he can play like that again on the biggest stage of his career.
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