Phoenix Suns rookie Cameron Johnson tied a career-high with 18 points on Thursday night during a 139-132 overtime win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Johnson finished by shooting 7-of-12 from the field, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range, in 31 minutes off of the bench. He also added six rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block. His performance on Thursday continued a hot recent shooting streak after converting on 8-of-14 from beyond the arc over his last two games.
The former North Carolina sharpshooter has had an up-and-down rookie campaign thus far but has been automatic from 3-point range, converting on nearly 42% of his looks from deep. As pointed out by Matt Petersen of NBA.com, Johnson has taken the bulk of his shots from either behind the arc or in the paint.
LOL Cam Johnson might be the future champion of analytics offense pic.twitter.com/zQQyC5NeBl
— Matt Petersen (@TheMattPetersen) December 6, 2019
According to NBA stats, 64.8% of Johnson’s total points scored this season are from 3-point range and 20.5% are inside the paint. As teams look to take the most efficient shot possible, Johnson certainly has embodied that by taking more 3-pointers and high-percentage shots while limiting his mid-range attempts — only 5.7% of his points are from the mid-range.
Johnson adds an element of shooting to the Suns’ lineup that has been crucial. He has proven to be a nice outlet for the guards on the court, especially in the left corner where he is shooting 11-of-15. Suns head coach Monty Williams has prioritized getting Johnson and rookie Ty Jerome on the court, in order to develop, so Johnson could continue seeing big minutes.
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