The Nuggets are nine games into the regular season, and things are going quite well. The team is off to a 7-2 start, and they’ve been a complete juggernaut at home, bursting to an easy 6-0 record in Ball Arena. Nikola Jokic has been incredible, and Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon are off to great starts as well.
Yet, not everything has clicked into place yet, and as Zach Lowe told his Ringer guest, Howard Beck, on his most recent podcast, he believes Cam Johnson has been the biggest disappointment in the league thus far.
All the talk in the offseason was that Johnson would come in and immediately be an upgrade over Michael Porter Jr. in the starting lineup, but that hasn’t been the case at all. Cam has struggled mightily with his shot, and looks like he’s still trying to find a rhythm and fit into the machine that is Denver’s offense.
Through nine games as a Nugget, Johnson is averaging just 8 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2 assists per game. He’s shooting 37% from the field and 23% from three; all numbers that are well below his career averages and recent outputs.
Johnson taking time to adjust to new role in Denver
Realistically, perhaps we should have seen this coming. It’s a major adjustment for Johnson was one of the go-to guys for a bad Nets team the last couple of seasons. Just last year, he averaged 18.8 points per game on over 13 field goal attempts per game.
Now, he’s being asked to fit in as a third or fourth option, and his on-ball reps have been greatly diminished. His usage has essentially been cut in half, and while the idea was that he’d have a better shot diet, we’re seeing some struggles to adapt to the lower volume.
Johnson hasn’t been contributing much on defense or in the rebounding department either, which is making this look even uglier. MPJ had his warts, but that guy was a knockdown shooter off the catch at all times, and he would relentlessly crash the boards and use his 6’10” frame and athleticism to his advantage.
The jury is obviously still out on Cam, as it hasn’t even been 10 games yet. It’s a massive change, going from one of the least professional organizations in the sport to a team that wants to win every night and has championship ambitions.
We know he can get there, and the fit still makes perfect sense in theory. Nobody is pushing the panic button, but we have to start seeing some positive signs, and at least knocking down his open threes would be a big step in the right direction.