https://youtu.be/kNFUJPlkpNk
It might come as a surprise to you that Cameron Johnson, who was widely regarded as one of the better rookies in the league last season, only scored above twenty points one time. “B-b-b-but DEE TEE BEE,” you scoff disbelievingly. “C-c-c-c-c-Cameron Johnson wasn’t even t-t-top ten in r-r-r-rookie scoring! T-t-to allege that J-j-j-Johnson was ‘w-w-widely regarded” t-t-to be a top r-r-r-r-r-r-rookie is revisionist h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-HISTORY!!!!”
Silence yourself, fool, and leave this place. True, Johnson may not have been setting the league ablaze with his 8.8 PPG per game (good for twentieth among rookies), but he was fourth (that’s right, FOURTH) in total win-shares. So while other rookies were jacking up shots and padding their stats while not significantly aiding their team in the wins column, Johnson was reliably playing a smaller role for the Suns. Thus, the fact that he only cracked twenty points one time is not that surprising. His role was not to be a twenty-point scorer. That role belonged to, and still belongs to, Devin Booker.
Am I ready for Johnson to take the next step this season? Hell yeah I am. Is it going to be a very big step? Probably not. But he’s, all of a sudden, like, the fourth-best scorer on the team (behind Booker, Ayton, and Paul), so if he scored 16 PPG per game this season, I wouldn’t be surprised at all.