Joe Johnson made his Miami Heat debut in Sunday’s win against the New York Knicks.
About three minutes into the first quarter, Goran Dragic whipped a no-look pass to Joe Johnson in the corner, who was sporting a crisp, new No. 2 Miami Heat jersey. Johnson launched the shot. Nothing but net. The Heat went up 11-2 to start the game and fans exhaled. Finally, Miami had a 3-point shooter.
Well, almost.
That would be Miami’s only 3-pointer of the game. Johnson missed his next two, and the Heat went 1-0f-8 as a team. So, Johnson wasn’t the one-man, three-point land savior some fans hoped he would be, but he did make the team better.
Starting his first game as a member of the Heat, Johnson moved the ball selflessly and cleanly. You could hear teammates yell things like “clear out, Joe!” during offensive sets, but Johnson, a 14-year vet, knows by now how to use his gravity to create space for teammates.
“Just trying to be in the right spots and not make mistakes. At the end of the day it’s just basketball,” Johnson said of his debut.
While it was Johnson’s first game in a Heat uniform, he’s played with fellow starters Amar’e Stoudemire in Phoenix during the early 2000’s and with good friend Dwyane Wade in many All-Star games.
Spoelstra says he started Johnson "to get him in his comfort zone with familiar players."
— Ethan J. Skolnick, 5 Reasons Sports (@EthanJSkolnick) February 29, 2016
Johnson finished the game making five of his 10 shots for 12 points, three rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes. More importantly, Johnson was a plus-15, bettered only by Goran Dragic’s plus-17 performance.
Johnson started in the place that Justise Winslow had been occupying since the second game back from the All-Star break, and the Knicks were aware of Johnson’s presence at all times.
This play was made great by Wade and rookie Josh Richardson, but Johnson’s presence helped give Richardson the lane to cut to the rim and create a wide-open passing window for Wade. Johnson, like a well-behaved 3-point shooter, trailed the break. His presence at the arc made Lance Thomas pause, rather than help on the darting Richardson.
That’s what the Heat hope Johnson can create in their opponents when Johnson is on the floor. A hesitation, a few extra feet within the ring, more room for Wade, Dragic, Deng and others to get to the rim.
Between Johnson being a 37 percent career 3-point shooter and playing among friends, the Heat can be assured he’ll be a perfect fit.