Keldon Johnson Back In Form After Magnificent Playoff Performance

Keldon Johnson was at what may have felt like him gelling into his role as a great sixth man player in his career after winning the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award, but then his form has dropped ever since.

The talented San Antonio Spurs‘ sixth man has been struggling to replicate the kind of performance that got him the NBA Sixth Man award in the first place.

Johnson has had much lower stats since winning his award. His FG% through Game 5 against the Minnesota Timberwolves was 38.3%. This is a much lower number than his regular-season FG% of 51.9%.

This kind of award for a player can bring a lot of pressure, and it can affect form if the player is not up to facing it head-on. Sometimes, there is an adjustment period for a player to overcome the overwhelming pressure an award can bring. The postseason for Johnson has been underwhelming; in the first playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers, they averaged only 6 points per game.

After moving on to the next round, the first four games against the Minnesota Timberwolves, there were improvements to his output, but still not enough to match the heights of what he is actually capable of as a player.

In the fifth game of the series, Johnson was unleashed, scoring 21 points against the Timberwolves. Not only was he doing what he does best off the bench offensively, but he was also providing defensive assistance, racking up two steals to add to his stats.

His ability to step up when starters need rest or are winding down in performance in later sections of the game has been key to the Spurs’ success in the regular season and again in the postseason. The NBA Sixth Man’s performance in this match against the Timberwolves is exactly the kind of performance that won him the award in the first place.

Going forward in the Spurs’ Game 6, if Keldon Johnson can maintain the kind of play he showed against the Timberwolves in Game 5, they can very well win and move on to the next round of the playoffs with a victory in Minnesota.

All Johnson has to do is continue with the intensity he showed in game five of this series and help his team with what he does best: score off the bench. The NBA Sixth Man award winner can show if he can help push his team through to the next round of playoffs on May 15 in Minnesota.