Keon Johnson capitalizing on chance due to Nets’ slew of injuries
Following the slew of injuries the Nets endured on Saturday, head coach Jordi Fernandez insisted he didn’t want to “overwhelm” his bench too much in filling new roles.
“There’s not many different things that we can run if we haven’t practiced or we haven’t had the time,” Fernandez said following the Nets’ 123-94 loss to the 76ers that saw four starters sitting on the bench with injuries.
However, he seemingly doesn’t have to worry about that when it comes to Keon Johnson, who has continued to add to his workload since Cam Thomas first suffered a hamstring injury on Nov. 25 against the Warriors.
Saturday called for more from Johnson once again.
On a night without Thomas due to a new hamstring injury as well as Cam Johnson (right ankle sprain) and Ben Simmons (left calf soreness), the 22-year-old shooting guard was deployed at point guard after D’Angelo Russell took a hit to the shin in the first half and sat out the rest of the game.
He led the offense with a reshuffled lineup of players that included the new faces of Reece Beekman, who was acquired in the Dennis Schroder trade, and Tosan Evbuomwan, who made his Nets debut after coming up from the Long Island Nets.
Johnson scored 15 points, including shooting 2 of 5 from beyond the 3-point line, while tallying eight rebounds, eight assists and a steal across a team-high 36 minutes.
For a player that was just hoping for a job at the start of the season, Johnson has shown what he can do as part of the Nets rotation.
“I’m always trying to prove myself and just show what I can bring to the league and to the table for my team,” Johnson said Saturday. “I feel like each night I get more and more comfortable, but my role doesn’t change. It doesn’t waiver. I know that I come in, play defense, play as hard as I can, and everything goes on [from there]. So, that’s what I’m focusing on, night in and night out.”
Johnson also credited Fernandez’s way of coaching — an emphasis on playing freely — that has only helped in his development this season.
“Just consistently giving us the confidence we need to go out there and compete,” Johnson said. “He gives us the freedom to go out and play the way we want to play, but also wants us to play hard at the same time. He keeps it very simple for us.”
The Nets signed Johnson to a two-year contract over the summer, paying him $2,162,606 this season and he $2,349,578 in 2025-26.
The contract has paid off so far.
The No. 21 overall pick of the 2021 draft grew into a rotational role and in the 17 games following Thomas’ November injury, Johnson has started the past 14.
His minutes jumped (27.1 per game) from his previous 13.7 average in his previous 16 games played.
With the increased minutes, he has averaged 10.6 points, four rebounds and one steal, while on 36-percent shooting. He hit a career-high 25 points on Dec. 27 against the Spurs and had 10 or more points on the board in nine of the 17 games.
Not only has Johnson proved his value within the Nets, he’s done it while the team is undergoing major changes due to injuries and trades during the early steps of a rebuilding era for the franchise. Player availability looks different each night. Thus the offensive game plan is in flux.
However, Johnson doesn’t view the situation as a difficult one to navigate.
“I wouldn’t say it’s hard. We all understand it’s part of the business and that this is what we signed up for on day one,” he said. “But, one thing we can control is what’s in front of us. Night in and night out, we don’t know who is going to be laced up. We don’t know who is going to be playing, but it’s just a better opportunity for everybody to be prepared and hope that your number is called.”
Given the extensive health bill of the Nets, especially if Russell’s shin injury proves to be serious, Johnson’s number doesn’t seem likely to get lost in the shuffle.
