Miami Heat: 3 goals for James Johnson in the 2019-20 season

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MIAMI, FLORIDA – APRIL 09: James Johnson #16 of the Miami Heat throws a pass around Greg Monroe #55 of the Philadelphia 76ers during the second half at American Airlines Arena on April 09, 2019 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Stay healthy

As mentioned earlier, James Johnson struggled to stay healthy last season and missed 27 of 82 games. Historically speaking, Johnson has only played more than 70 games twice in his 10-year career.

However, those two seasons both came with the Miami Heat in 2016-17 and 2017-18, with 76 and 73 games respectively. For the sake of this team’s depth over the course of a long regular season, he’ll need to pull that trick off a third time in four years and stay available for action.

As the Miami Heat surged in the second half of last season and pushed for a playoff spot, they were ultimately undone by the crush of injuries to players like Goran Dragic, Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson, and their depth simply wasn’t able to pick up the slack as they fell back from the pack.

While it’s not as though more minutes from James Johnson would have been the missing link last season, maybe next season his healthy play in relief of players like Winslow or Jimmy Butler might be enough to keep them in the chase long enough to matter.

Availability is vital in the long grind of an NBA season, and James Johnson’s availability is important.

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