James Johnson continues to make his case to remain with the Miami Heat

James Johnson has emerged as one of the Miami Heat’s most reliable and versatile players, and should get paid this summer.

James Johnson has continued his rich vein of form, albeit in a losing cause. The Miami Heat lost to the Detroit Pistons 107-98, with their record dropping to 10-25 in the process. Due to the host of injuries Miami continues to endure, Johnson received a spike in his playing time. However, this proved no obstacle to performing is the efficient manner in which the team has become accustomed.

Johnson played 34 minutes and finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal. Most impressive was his efficiency, hitting 6-of-13 overall from the field including 4-of-5 from downtown and knocking down all four of his free-throw attempts.

Defensively, Johnson was heavily relied upon due to the absence of Hassan Whiteside in the middle. Splitting time at both power forward and center, Johnson’s defensive rating (opposition points per 100 possessions) was profound. When he was on the court, the Heat’s defensive rating was 100.9. When he was off the floor, this ballooned to 129.2.

In the Heat’s previous game in Boston, Johnson converted a career high of four three-point field goals. To back this up here in consecutive games illustrates the confidence in which he is playing with presently. And again, his play in the fourth quarter was at a high level, contributing seven points and three rebounds in 10 minutes. In the final quarter of the last seven games, Johnson has averaged 5.0 points on 48.3 percent shooting and 2.9 rebounds in 8.6 minutes of action.

Johnson’s four-quarter performance was much needed for a Heat team that was red hot in the first half, and ice cold after the long break. Miami had registered 66 points by half time, only to finish with 98 at it’s conclusion. Overall, Johnson was the only Heat player to score in each quarter of the game.

Again in this game, Johnson displayed a myriad of ways to put the ball in the whole. His ability to spread the floor gives the Heat so much flexibility on the offensive end. For the season, Johnson is now averaging 1.2 three pointers made per game. Over his past seven games, this has risen 2.1 per game at an outstanding 48.4 percent clip.

Signed in the offseason to a one-year contract, Johnson is making it harder on a nightly basis for the Heat front office to not offer him a long term extension this summer.

The question now is: Can the Heat even afford him? With the salary cap rising once again, Johnson could see a similar deal to former Miami forward Luol Deng. If the progress he has made over the first 35 games continues on a similar path, it’d be a surprise to not see him reside in Miami for many years to come. If they can afford him.