Brice

Johnson

Not good. He was really good at UNC in his four years and even became the first Tarheel ever to have three-straight 20-10 games in the NCAA tournament. Johnson was getting an earful from the coaching staff due to poor play on both ends. He was benched for most of the first half, but did start the second half. The Clippers are high on him, so expect them to give him a ton of focus in practice. Hopefully, he’s better his next time out.

Rivers said the No. 25 pick has 18-foot range right now. Johnson didn’t attempt a single 3-pointer in his 3,102 minutes in college, so this would be surprising. On the positive side, he did convert 46.2 percent of his two-point jumpers, so that’s a start. Even with four years under his belt at UNC, he’s unlikely to get minutes.

He rounded out his statistical output during his senior year at UNC, averaging 17.0 points, 10.5 boards, 1.5 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.5 blocks and 1.8 turnovers. Johnson is slim at 209 pounds, but has length with a 6’11" frame and a seven-foot wingspan. He already put on 40 pounds through his college career, so it might not be easy for him to add more. His thin frame will make it really tough to play the five with sub-par defense, as well. Coach Doc Rivers typically hasn’t trusted rookies, so Johnson may not play much early in his career.

The 22-year-old power forward could benefit from adding some size to his frame, but with Marreese Speights now on the roster, it’s tough to envision Johnson earning enough playing time during his rookie year to make a difference in most settings.

“We like a lot of the things he can do and has done,” Rivers said. “He has played big games in college. We like his upside, too. We like the fact that we believe he has a chance to help right away. But, we also feel like he has a high ceiling and he can get a lot better.” Rivers is hoping that Johnson can extend his range beyond the 3-point line, but it sounds as if the rookie should be in the rotation next season.

Johnson also pulled down eight boards, but he again struggled with foul trouble (eight fouls) and threw away the rock seven times in his 35 minute of action. Johnson could play limited minutes behind Blake Griffin during his rookie season, but he won’t be on the floor enough to matter in most leagues.

“The only thing I told him, I didn’t like he showed everybody he played poorly with his body language,” Rivers said. “I told him, ‘Just get to the next play.’” Johnson was benched in the first half of that Saturday game, but he really turned it around. There were some fouling issues on the defensive side while he put up great stats in his last three. In those games, Johnson averaged 21.7 points, 7.0 boards, 0.7 blocks and 1.0 steals on a fantastic 68.9 true shooting percentage. That said, the Clippers adding Marreese Speights could hurt his chance for playing time.

“It will definitely translate but, at the same time, I want to be able to expand my game just because, not only am I not going to be posting as much, but I have to do be able to step out and shoot 3-pointers sometimes,” Johnson said. “In college, I was a back-to-the-basket type of player because that was the system Coach Williams had. Nowadays, everybody just wants to see me shoot the ball.” The UNC forward is a solid athlete and averaged 17.0 points, 10.4 boards, 1.5 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.1 steals during his senior season, and he could be a late first-round pick in this month’s draft.

This was his second game in a row with 23 points, but he also turned the ball over eight times with eight fouls after finishing with four turnovers and seven personal fouls on Sunday. The rookie is making progress after his disastrous summer league debut on Saturday, and his athleticism could help him make a difference for the Clippers right away. With Cole Aldrich and Jeff Green bolting Los Angeles, there is a path to minutes for Johnson, but he won’t be worth drafting in his rookie season. You can check out one of his many impressive dunks in the link below.

That’s where the good news ends, as Johnson also racked up four turnovers and seven personal fouls in under 30 minutes of action. He struggled at both ends of the court on Saturday, including foul trouble, and has a long way to go to earn fantasy owners’ trust.