It has been a roller coaster ride for Nets shooting guard Keon Johnson over the past year-plus, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Times (subscriber link), who notes that the former No. 21 overall pick was out of work when last season began before catching on with Brooklyn on a two-way deal in November.
The 6’5″ Tennessee alum earned a promotion to a standard partially guaranteed contract over the summer and is now a part of head coach Jordi Fernandez‘s rotation as he looks to hang onto his roster spot through the league-wide salary guarantee date of January 7, Lewis writes.
Through 23 contests so far, Johnson is averaging 6.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 0.5 steals per contest, with a shooting line of .355/.315/.750. Although he had a couple DNP-CDs earlier in the season, he has been part of Brooklyn’s starting lineup for the past four games.
“I think good things happen to players that work really hard and they do whatever it takes for the team — Keon has been doing it,” Fernandez said. “And he’s not the only one right now. He’s in this position … because he deserves it. He still has work to do and improve, but I’m very happy with him. He’s a guy that can be very, very, very good defensively. He’s able to catch and shoot, he’s an amazing athlete, and all those things so far are important for us.”
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- Former Knicks starting center Isaiah Hartenstein, who departed for Oklahoma City in free agency this summer, claimed he wouldn’t have let All-Star Hawks point guard Trae Young celebrate his NBA Cup victory atop the team’s logo on the Madison Square Garden court. All-NBA Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson had a succinct retort when asked about his former teammate’s comments, per Zach Braziller of The New York Post. “Isaiah isn’t here,” Brunson said.
- Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau disputes the notion that his team has struggled defensively, Braziller writes in another New York Post story. “I think we’re top 10 in points allowed, we’re [12th] in points in the paint, we’re fifth in fast-break points allowed, we’re top five in second-chance points allowed, so those are all good markers,” Thibodeau said. “Defensive field goal percentage the last 10 games has been good. I think we’re 13th [overall]. It’s all moving in the right direction. Can it be better? Yes, and that’s what we’re aiming for.” Braziller notes that the team, which brought in All-Defensive Team forward Mikal Bridges and All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns in separate offseason trades, currently ranks 16th in defensive rating, a dip from its ninth-place finish in 2023/24.
- Fourth-year All-Star Raptors forward Scottie Barnes was able to go through a light workout on Sunday with Toronto assistant coaches, reports Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link). Barnes injured his right ankle in a 113-108 loss to the Knicks on Monday, and it is anticipated that he will be sidelined for multiple weeks. Toronto’s best two-way player, Barnes is averaging 20.6 points, 8.4 boards, 7.4 dimes, 1.3 steals and 0.7 rejections in his 14 healthy games for the 7-19 squad.
Knicks are not underachieved, no excuse
They should be as good as Cavs
Among 5 starters, only Towns miss 2 games
Knicks are underachieved
IHART needs to shut up. He’s dead to me
Knicks got beat by Hawks. At home. Trae earned it. He had a big game.
Knicks still inconsistent. Have to play 48 min.
“ Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau is hoping to get Achiuwa more involved next to Karl-Anthony Towns in the frontcourt in hopes of improving the defense, but it comes with a catch”
Like I said ….. I got your back Thibs.
Precious played with KAT. Defense and rebounding were better. Liked to see OG with them more. We are bigger and still mobile. Magic were down guys. But were undefeated at hm. This was a grind out gm. Tough win for Knicks. They needed this. They showed up. Bridges looked good too ……
Precious starting helps KAT, 2WayBridges, and team D. I hope we see more of it. NYK
Pretty clear from this article that neither Brunson nor Thibs wanted to speak with Braziller. Can’t fault either guy on that. The NYK are struggling defensively; at least if they have aspirations beyond being 16th in a league where very little defense is played outside of its top teams in selective situations.
Still, its silly for Braziller to suggest that the dip from last season is despite adding an all league wing defender in Bridges, without mentioning that we lost the centerpiece of our defense in the C tag team of I-Hart and Mitch.