New starting Suns power forward Cameron Johnson is undergoing a positive on-court evolution in accordance with his new gig, reports Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports.
“Getting more used to that on a night-in, night-out basis, and also finishing the game, man, that’s something that I love doing,” Johnson said of his adjustment to the new responsibilities of the role. “Being in there and being part of that critical thinking on top of high-level basketball portion of the game, it’s a lot of fun.”
Through seven contests for the West’s top-seeded 6-1 Suns, the 6’8″ Phoenix forward is averaging a career-best 14.9 PPG on .457/.440/.727 shooting splits, along with 3.9 RPG, 1.9 APG, and 1.3 SPG.
There’s more out of the Pacific Division:
- Clippers star forward Kawhi Leonard only lasted two regular season games before knee issues flared up. L.A. head coach Tyronn Lue has provided a minor update on the state of the five-time All-Star’s health, noting that Leonard is “doing better and moving in a positive direction,” per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (Twitter link). Youngmisuk adds that Leonard will sit out the team’s upcoming two Texas road games. In his two healthy games for the Clippers, Leonard has played limited minutes as a reserve, averaging just 21 MPG.
- New Kings shooting guard Kevin Huerter has thus far managed to thrive with Sacramento following an offseason trade from Atlanta, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “My role has the potential to expand a little bit more here,” Huerter said. “Just the way we’re built, the personnel, a lot of that has to do with (Sacramento center Domantas Sabonis), playing through a five man.” The 6’7″ swingman is averaging 18.9 PPG, with a slash line of .506/.518/.789. He is also chipping in 3.9 APG, 2.9 RPG, and 0.6 SPG.
- While wondering whether Warriors star power forward Draymond Green would be as special in another team’s system as he has been in an 11-season partnership with Golden State that has yielded four NBA titles, Zach Lowe of ESPN reports that the team has yet to discuss any potential deals for the 32-year-old big man, and at present does not intend to explore trades that would send him out of town. Green, who has a $27.6MM player option for the 2023/24 season, punched teammate Jordan Poole in the face during a practice altercation, and had to spend a portion of the club’s preseason away from the other Warriors. The team opted to extend the contracts of Poole and starting small forward Andrew Wiggins ahead of the 2022/23 season, but did not do so with Green.
Draymond is playing much better this season, so at least there’s that. Kerr will find ways to play the absolute stupidest possible rotations including 2-way g-leaguers over lottery pick studs who NEED playing time, literally ALL of these losses are on Kerr. He really should be fired for this, there’s zero reason to play Ty Jerome over Moses Moody, none.
In the 5 games Jerome has played he’s played a total of 65 minutes compared to Moody’s 82.
Warriors FO are pushing Kerr to retool a championship roster with 2nd year rookies and you ask to play more freshmen ..? Go watch Gleague Warriors then. Wiseman, Kuminga, Moodie are season role men at best today and bench buddies comes PO time…
The splash bro window is closing, the day Draymond is traded, you will have plenty of time to watch a developping team.
Didnt everyone, including Vegas, think Clips were a top 3 team heading into the season? I didn’t get it before the season, I dont get it now.
Kawhi never plays, PG has artificial shoulders, and without their top-2 the rest of their roster looks average at best. Grizz and Pelicans where obvoulsy gonna be better teams than Clips!
After watching the couple games Kawhi Leonard played in I thought Clippers were definitely legitimate contenders to go all the way. He’s just a monster out there. And with George and that very deep veteran bench I thought they were definitely a team to be reckoned with this season. Might still be a little early to write them off.
I know I’ve said this before, but the Crowder situation makes little to no sense. Cam Johnson is only averaging 2 more minutes, and 2 more shots. These are things that could have still been accomplished…
Draymond would be just as good on many teams, and on some others, he wouldnt be as useful in certain ways, but he is a winning player, and can at least provide value in certain areas. Narratives people try to paint on him, as though he doesnt hold the value he does, are just sad at this point
Still cant believe that Atlanta trade, getting rid of Huerter, and personally felt that took away a chance they had this season to be a much stronger, especially after drafting AJ Griffin to replace depth they lost in the poor Reddish trade. It was perfect for Sacramento. They need another 2/3 off their bench, instead of so many guards, though I think Ellis can handle that spot if he gets opportunity. I do wonder if they might be better off with Sabonis being a super primary option off the bench, instead of as a starter, just b/c when he is on the floor, you want the ball in his hands often, and I think they can play multiple ways, with Huerter, Barnes, and Murray in that starting unit with Fox. Obviously, I dont think they would do that, but I think it would potentially open up the floor for them