After four months of quarantine and return questions, the regular NBA season will begin on July 31st and the Phoenix Suns will participate. This will offer the young players of the team the opportunity to experience and grow from a playoff atmosphere. Even if the Suns don’t make the actual playoffs, this season can potentially accelerate the growth of this team. One player who will have an incredible growth opportunity is striker Cameron Johnson.
Johnson was decent during his beginner season, playing 49 games and averaging 8.1 points per game. He was buried in the depth chart with “Tsunami Papi” Kelly Oubre Jr. and Mikal Bridges who ate most of the minutes and was also affected by the wound bug. When he saw the field, he played like any rookie would play, up and down depending on the situation he faced.
One of the reasons why Johnson should have a better result in Orlando is the four-month gap that has spanned the entire league. Usually, four months are the NBA’s off-season periods and most players use that time to improve their game physically and mentally.
Sure, this was in the midst of a quarantine / pandemic, but there are many ways Johnson could have worked on his game while socially walking away. Film studio, work on his shooting / footwork alone or with a coach, training, etc. Having that time to train and grow, Johnson could potentially return with a better game than we saw last year which could lead him to get more time on the field in the bubble.
Another advantage for Johnson and because he will have more time on the pitch is the fact that Oubre will not play in Orlando due to a knee injury. This gives Johnson the chance to see the minutes as the sixth man or Bridges’ subtitle in the three points. In a lineup with Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton and Ricky Rubio, Johnson should see a lot of open shots available for him. This will give him valuable playing time and the chance to have live reps with beginners. Combining this with the growth that we could potentially see from the break that the players have had, Johnson could easily get out of this season with a lot of growth.
This bubble is one of the situations, if not the most unique, that the NBA has ever had. It provides a playoff atmosphere without actually being a playoff series due to the schedule and play-in tournament for the eight seeds. This will allow these young players and teams to grow. Johnson had a rocky first season, but after an offseason and injury equivalent of Oubre, he has a chance to make these last eight games count for more.
