When the Denver Nuggets announced they were going to sign DeMar DeRozan to a one-year veteran's minimum contract, the initial reaction from everyone was about how he would fit in the Nuggets' rotation. Fans and critics were worried about the spacing that could clog up with DeRozan and Nikola Jokic in the midrange. But the secret to unlocking more spacing to let those two have more room to work will be Cameron Johnson and his sniper-like three-point shooting.
Johnson got off to a slow start for the Nuggets in 2025-26, and he was slowed down even more by a right knee injury sustained on Dec. 23rd, which caused him to miss 23 games before returning on Feb. 7th. But through it all, Johnson's three-point shot was resilient, and he finished the season with a 43.0% rate from downtown, the 8th best mark in the league.
However, given the nature of the Nuggets' offense, Johnson's volume dropped from 7.2 attempts with the Brooklyn Nets in 2024-25 to 4.7 last year. That number should go back up with the departure of the Nuggets' other three-point specialist, Tim Hardaway Jr., who took his talents to South Beach this offseason. But it will be Johnson's accuracy from deep that opens up the offense.
Defenses won't be able to leave Johnson open
More traffic under the perimeter, and drops by the wings on defense to help defend against Jokic and DeRozan will get punished quickly. We know that Jokic is one of, if not the best, passers in the game. Well, DeRozan is a very underrated passer and playmaker himself, and his 4.1 assists last season in the Sacramento Kings' offense would easily rank third on the Nuggets last season. If the wings collapse to double or help with either one of them, Johnson will be wide open. And he doesn't miss much.
And if the help comes quickly, but the lane opens up to drive to the rim, Cam can do that, too. He showed in Games 5 and 6 of the first round against the Minnesota Timberwolves that he's capable of being a dual threat, and that he can pick up the slack when Jamal Murray and Jokic get bottled up.
Sure, it was too little, too late, but Cam's 18 points in Game 5 on 6-for-6 shooting from two, mostly drives to the paint, got into the Timberwolves' head, and in Game 6, they left him open from beyond the arc, and he hit 5 out of 10 of his three-point attempts. He also continued to drive to the rim and attempted 9 free throws, making 6. Cam finished with 27 points in the series-ending defeat.
Johnson needs to have a big season for the Nuggets to be their well-oiled best, and he's primed to do so with the added playmaking of DeRozan in the offense.
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