Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Tyler Johnson provides needed aggressiveness
MIAMI — The time for patience has passed. So if you’re healed, you play. And if the lineup needs tinkering, you don’t wait for the next game.
That not only had Tyler Johnson playing 38 minutes in Tuesday’s Miami Heat overtime loss to the Washington Wizards, but also had him in the opening lineup at the start of the second half.
Having played Johnson off the bench in Monday’s blowout victory over the Phoenix Suns and then held him in reserve for the start of Tuesday’s game after Johnson had missed the previous two games with a bruised left quadriceps, coach Erik Spoelstra decided Tuesday’s third quarter was go time. So Johnson was back alongside starters Hassan Whiteside, Goran Dragic, Josh Richardson and James Johnson.
“It was great to see him out there, being aggressive and playing with confidence,” Spoelstra said, with the Heat turning their attention to tonight’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers at AmericanAirlines Arena. “He certainly played at least 20 more minutes than I anticipated playing him. We didn’t know how he would feel coming on the back-toback. We didn’t feel we had time to wait.”
Johnson closed with 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting against the Wizards.
“I don’t really pay too much attention on when you go into the game,” he said. “Basketball is basketball and you can compete against whatever five is out there. Starting the second half didn’t make a difference. I just wanted to stay aggressive.”
He said he is ready for whatever comes next. “I thought in the fourth quarter of the Phoenix game I started to feel back to being myself,” he said. “It was kind of a lopsided game so it was a little bit different, but at the same time, I didn’t feel it when I was running and jumping and I wasn’t thinking about it [Tuesday] going in. As long as I’m not thinking about it, I’m kind of over it.”
With Johnson back to a slashing approach that earned him seven free throws against the Wizards, it gives the Heat dual attacking shooting guards along with Dwyane Wade.
“I think he was great,” point guard Goran Dragic said. “Him and D-Wade, those two guys really carried us and had us going on offense. Everyone else was off and on. I think he played well. We want him to play like that.”