Injuries Give Johnson His Chance
March 16th, 2010 by Andrew WamboldtThe Bulls have been badly bitten by the injury bug as of late. Joakim Noah is probably out for nearly the rest of the season, Derrick Rose has a sprained wrist, and Luol Deng has a strained calf. Luol Deng and Derrick Rose should return soon, but with all of these injuries, the Bulls look like they are going to miss the playoffs this year. While it will stink for the Bulls to miss out on the playoffs after playing so well before the injuries, there is one positive from all of these injuries, and that is James Johnson getting a chance to play extended minutes.
In a game at the beginning of the month, in which he got the start against the Atlanta Hawks, Johnson put up 9 points, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 1 steal in 23 minutes.
Against the Orlando Magic on Thursday, Johnson had 13 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block.
Then came his game against the Miami Heat, in which Johnson exploded offensively. Johnson finished the game with 20 points on 8-11 shooting, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks.
In his 3 games as a starter this season, Johnson is averaging 14.0 points on 73.8 TS%, 3.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.7 blocks in 31 minutes.
While the sample size is small, Johnson is beginning to show that he could be quite the player on the NBA level, and there is no reason for him not to be. He is one of the strongest players in the NBA and he pairs that with a great ability at handling the basketball. These two attributes should help him be a good player.
Johnson needs to put together some more good games before he can be considered a legitimate player, but these past 3 games have really opened up people’s eyes to what Johnson can become. While the losses are tough to take, these injuries could end up being for the better if they ultimately are what allowed Johnson to change the trajectory of his career.












