NBA

Joe Johnson was Nets’ best player in good times & bad

With the Nets season officially in the books, it’s time to look back at the year that was. We’ll look back at a different player each weekday, before wrapping up with the coaching staff and front office. Next up: Joe Johnson

Regular season stats: Averaged 15.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.1 blocks per game. Shot 45.4 percent from the field, 40.1 percent from 3-point range, 81.5 percent from the foul line in 32.6 minutes per game over 79 games (79 starts).

Playoff stats: Averaged 21.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.3 blocks per game. Shot 53.3 percent from the field, 41.5 percent from 3-point range and 83.7 percent from foul line in 39.1 minutes per game over 12 games (12 starts).

Contractual status: Signed through 2015-16 season; owed $23,180,790 for 2014-15.

Season recap

On a team filled with dominant personalities and star names, it was easy for Joe Johnson to blend into the background. But while his name may not be the first one associated with the Nets, there was little doubt that from start to finish, Johnson was the team’s best and most consistent performer this season.

Johnson had literally limped into the offseason with a debilitating case of plantar fasciitis that severely limited him throughout the team’s seven-game first-round playoff loss to the Bulls. But from Day One this season, Johnson was a human metronome, churning out solid performances amid the turmoil of the early portions of the schedule. When the Nets were struggling during the opening two months, Johnson seamlessly fit in as a spot-up 3-point shooter on a team with several offensive options, including Deron Williams, Paul Pierce and Brook Lopez.

The Nets struggled early, and were 10-21 heading into the first game of 2014 on Jan. 2 in Oklahoma City. Though game has become remembered as the one where the Nets switched to their smallball lineup, it also was the game where Johnson — shifting to small forward — made arguably the biggest shot of the season.

The Nets headed into the halftime break down by 15 and went into the fourth quarter trailing by 11, then stormed back to tie the game before finding themselves with the ball in Johnson’s hands as the final seconds ticked off the clock. Here’s what happened next:

That shot marked the beginning of the dramatic mid-season turnaround for the Nets, who went from a laughingstock to one of the best teams in the NBA after Jan. 1. Johnson’s All-Star selection was met with some controversy, with many feeling that Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry deserved the spot, but Johnson played like an All-Star from Jan. 1 on, averaging 18.1 points per 36 minutes while shooting 46 percent overall and 40 percent from 3-point range.

As good as Johnson was during the regular season, he raised his game to another level in the playoffs. Against Toronto in the first round, Johnson was the best player on the floor, despite the Raptors throwing all kinds of different options and defensive looks at him. Johnson averaged 21.9 points while shooting over 52 percent from the floor, including going for 26 points, four rebounds and four assists in the Nets’ Game 7 victory.

Johnson was just as good in the Nets’ loss to the Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals, including a stellar performance in the season-ending Game 5 defeat in which he scored 34 points on 15-for-23 shooting – with many of those shots coming against LeBron James. The Nets gave Johnson the ball on the final play of their season, but Ray Allen managed to get a hand on it and knock it away, sending the Nets home for the summer.

Outlook for next season

Johnson has received much unfair criticism since he signed a six-year deal for more than $120 million with the Hawks in 2010. Although many prefer to act as if Johnson extorted then-Hawks general manager Rick Sund, he simply accepted an offer any sane person would have agreed to.

All of the focus on Johnson’s contract diminishes the fact that he’s still an excellent player. With two years remaining on his contract until the Nets can completely reset their roster during the summer of 2016, Johnson is going to be a player coach Jason Kidd relies upon heavily. His ability to create mismatches offensively in 1-on-1 situations – as well as the threat he poses as an outstanding spot-up shooter on the perimeter – make him a unique and versatile threat.

The bigger question will be how the Nets surround Johnson. Pierce and Kevin Garnett could leave – though that seems unlikely – and the health statuses of Williams and Lopez are up in the air. Regardless, you should expect the same kind of consistent production from Johnson over the next two seasons as he has provided through his first two years in Brooklyn.

Tomorrow: Andrei Kirilenko