Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Both Johnsons enjoy roles as spark plugs
MIAMI — The question almost seemed to offend Heat forward James Johnson.
After playing 30 minutes Monday in a victory over the Washington Wizards, Johnson was asked if he was tired.
“What’s that man, fatigue?” Johnson asked. “We play for the Miami Heat.”
Being tired is the last thing Johnson and fellow reserve Tyler Johnson will complain about. They are, after all, the instant energy the Heat covet from their bench. Both have embraced the role of spark plug, especially in an injury-filled season that has needed every boost it can get.
“I love it,” James Johnson said. “I love the guys I come off the bench with, the guys that are already in when I come off the bench. Everything is going, and coach is putting everybody in positions to succeed in, and we’re just trying to play as hard as we can.”
Tyler Johnson has been just as effective in creating energy. He has played the entire fourth quarter in six straight games, a feat he has accomplished 17 times this season. He leads the NBA with 264 fourth-quarter minutes despite not starting a game.
Tyler Johnson, who has a salary level usually reserved for starters, has no problem with coming off the bench.
“I like to come off the bench,” Tyler Johnson said. “It gives me a chance to see what’s needed in the game. Sometimes, we come out a little flat. I just like to come in and play hard as I can. That way when the starters come back in, they’re energized as well.”
For Tyler Johnson, the biggest challenge is continuing the developmental process. At 24, he feels there is still room to improve.
“I’m still in the process of becoming a better basketball player,” he said. “I had a lot of tools coming in, but I didn’t necessarily know how to use them. Being in the gym all the time and being around other great players and a guy like [Dwyane Wade] … you want your game to grow.”
Both Johnsons have also provided the roster with versatility. Tyler Johnson is able to play both backcourt positions, while James Johnson was used at center against the Wizards. The Heat had experimented with him at the position on occasion during practice before putting him there.
“I’m open to anything right now,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “If it works, we’re going to try to maximize it. But yes, he’s a dynamic, versatile player. Whether you’re playing him at the five or the four, we just want to try to leverage his uniqueness, his versatility, and he showed that last night.”
It is exactly what the Heat expected after playing against James Johnson for years. Last season he was on the Toronto Raptors team that eliminated the Heat in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
“We played against him a lot, and so we’ve had success with those multipositional, versatile players,” Spoelstra said. “So just seeing the competition, the way he’s a two-way player, we thought he was an intriguing, unique guy who could fit how we play. You never know until you get to know a guy.
“You have to earn that trust early on, and he started that process in early August. He started to show what he wanted to do with his career.”
The two players also made a strong commitment to conditioning in order to fulfill their roles. James Johnson was able to log heavy minutes Monday despite missing the previous four games due to injury.
“Just getting in prime shape,” James Johnson said. “That was the first goal of mine. It was no bigger than that. They said ‘If you can get into this kind of shape, your weight at this and keep it there, we feel like you can play better, and you’ll play for us.’ They weren’t wrong.”’