5) Joe Johnson Is Coming On
Joe Johnson has been a steady hand this season for the Jazz. However, outside of a 29-point effort in the season opener against the Portland Trail Blazers, he’s rarely looked like the seven-time All-Star that he is.
If the last two games are any indication, that may be starting to change. He may not be the Iso Joe of old, but he’s definitely showing a better ability to turn back the clock.
Johnson was particularly good against the Celtics, scoring 17 points on 7-of-11 from the field, while connecting on 3-of-4 shots from behind the arc. He also played better defensively, blocking two shots to go with a steal. His strong play actually got the Jazz back into the game before a late run by Boston quelled any comeback hopes.
It was undoubtedly his best performance since the aforementioned outburst in Portland. The numbers from the Raptors loss were less gaudy, but he still led the team in the plus/minus department at plus-eight.
The Jazz need more nights like these from their bench players if they want to make waves in the playoff race.
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