The Amazing Wes Johnson

[orange2win]

Watching Wes tonight it is amazing to me that of all the stars that have cycled through the SU ranks since 2000, Wes is #2 after Carmelo in total minutes played in the NBA. Only Kobe has played more minutes for the Lakers this season. Same tonight.

 

[moqui]

I love Wes . . . but that stat tells you a helluva lot more about the Lakers than it does about Wes

 

[kjb120]

Wes ended the game with 9 points but 5 of those points came in the final minute and ten seconds. He first hit two free after grabbing an offensive rebound, then picked Hardens pocket and converted a three point play. I love seeing Wes do good, he seems like such a personable individual.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

Pretty much won it for them at the end.

 

[PoppyHart]

Warrick has played over 3,000 more minutes.

 

[RF2044]

Wes seems stuck in that 8-9 ppg / 3-4 rpg plateau. Even getting starters minutes doesn't seem to impact his productivity.

 

[orangefog]

Wes seems so passive. He seems perfectly content to be a non option on offense and just grab a few rebounds, play defense and score only when the ball falls to him. I watched Hill grab a rebound, come down and look for a guard, look directly at Wes who had his hands extended to get the ball, only to have Hill put it on the floor and take it up court for a few dribbles before passing it to one of the guards. Other times, he was standing open under the basket and nobody looks for him. I don't understand why they don't utilize him more as a spot up shooter. They have a few guys that can draw and dish, but Wes seems to be option #5.

 

[scottynguyen]

http://streamable.com/619

here's the steal and and-1 from last night.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I dont see why Wes couldn't really be a 3 and D guy ala Danny Green for San Antonio, He's shooting awful so far this year, but his three numbers in the past have been better. He's big, hes long, hes got the body type to guard twos and threes.

 

[Melancer46]

I dont see why Wes couldn't really be a 3 and D guy ala Danny Green for San Antonio, He's shooting awful so far this year, but his three numbers in the past have been better. He's big, hes long, hes got the body type to guard twos and threes.

Yeah, I've been saying the same on other message boards. He shoots the 3 well and defends pretty well (which is the reason he's gotten as many minutes as he has). Not sure if he can shoot curling off screens the way Green does, but I definitely think he could be a good role player on a contending team. He seems to have finally found his niche.

 

[orange2win]

Warrick has played over 3,000 more minutes.

My post refers only to the six current players with NBA contracts. The all time SU player with the most NBA minutes is still Dave Bing, but Carmelo may pass him this year for the #1 spot. DC is #3. Warrick is in 9th place and Wes has just passed Etan Thomas to move into 10th place behind Hakim.

 

[jordoo]

Wes doesn't have the handle to be a 2 or 3 on offense in the NBA. That is the biggest issue limiting his scoring, he's simply not good at consistently creating shots for himself or others. He has to have other guys set him up for shots most of the time.

 

[pfister1]

I dont see why Wes couldn't really be a 3 and D guy ala Danny Green for San Antonio, He's shooting awful so far this year, but his three numbers in the past have been better. He's big, hes long, hes got the body type to guard twos and threes.

He is shooting awfully this season. His career numbers from 3 aren't great either, just 34%. Probably not the guy you want taking an inordinate number of 3s, although they don't have a lot of good options. Jeremy Lin may be their best threat at present.

By the way, Danny Green's career % from 3 is 42%.

 

[SUintheVille]

Wes seems stuck in that 8-9 ppg / 3-4 rpg plateau. Even getting starters minutes doesn't seem to impact his productivity.

I agree. What will it take for Wes to break out, or is Wes playing at or near his ceiling level (ability and PT-wise) and that's about all we can expect from him in the NBA? Somewhat of a rhetorical question.

 

[RF2044]

I agree. What will it take for Wes to break out, or is Wes playing at or near his ceiling level (ability and PT-wise) and that's about all we can expect from him in the NBA? Somewhat of a rhetorical question.

Sometimes, guys can put up "good" numbers on bad teams, as a function of PT. That's kind of what I was hoping for with Wes last year and this year--that getting a dose of starter's minutes would up his averages to, say, 13 ppg and 5 rpg. Respectable numbers that might get him a higher contract the next time around. But his numbers have basically stayed the same his entire career. I guess this is just what he's capable of producing. Nothing wrong with that--but I'd like to see him carve out a 10+ year career.

 

[HOFCeluck]

Sometimes, guys can put up "good" numbers on bad teams, as a function of PT. That's kind of what I was hoping for with Wes last year and this year--that getting a dose of starter's minutes would up his averages to, say, 13 ppg and 5 rpg. Respectable numbers that might get him a higher contract the next time around. But his numbers have basically stayed the same his entire career. I guess this is just what he's capable of producing. Nothing wrong with that--but I'd like to see him carve out a 10+ year career.

Think about it this way. .. He's already way ahead of what he was expected to do before college. A five plus nba career is pretty decent.

 

[RF2044]

Think about it this way. .. He's already way ahead of what he was expected to do before college. A five plus nba career is pretty decent.

No argument--getting there constitutues making it. But I'm talking about career longevity. I doubt Wes will get too many opportunities to start consistently for the remainder of his career, given what we've seen thus far. Would be nice to see him kick it up a notch now that the opportunity has presented itself.

And again, I'm talking about putting up somewhat better numbers on a poor team--not him morphing into some all star candidate.

 

[moqui]

I agree. What will it take for Wes to break out, or is Wes playing at or near his ceiling level (ability and PT-wise) and that's about all we can expect from him in the NBA? Somewhat of a rhetorical question.

that's the million dollar question, isn't it? his last two coaches out here in LA, Mike D'Antoni and Byron Scott, have both publicly raved about his talent, and he shows it in brief spurts, but mostly he just drifts

 

[Madbiker]

Wes is so athletic. He gets by on pure athleticism and he's a decent perimeter shooter. But his problem is that he doesn't handle the ball well enough to play guard and he's too thin and not strong enough to play forward. He plays both but his flaws get exposed.

 

[SUintheVille]

Maybe on a bad Lakers team he can gradually increase PT and production this season under their new head coach to the point he gets more visibility and recognition from others. And ups his stats.

 

[Full_Rebar]

I'd argue that being on that Lakers team isn't helping Wes. His personality seems to be at odds with that team culture. Hopefully he can play well enough that a contender looks at him as a valuable bench piece, and with players who encourage him to be more aggressive.

 

[Melancer46]

He is shooting awfully this season. His career numbers from 3 aren't great either, just 34%. Probably not the guy you want taking an inordinate number of 3s, although they don't have a lot of good options. Jeremy Lin may be their best threat at present.

By the way, Danny Green's career % from 3 is 42%.

Holy crap lol. I thought you must be mistaken because I checked his shooting numbers like a week ago and he was shooting over 40%, but since I checked, he's gone a combined 1/14 from 3 lol.

 

[HoustonCuse]

Holy crap lol. I thought you must be mistaken because I checked his shooting numbers like a week ago and he was shooting over 40%, but since I checked, he's gone a combined 1/14 from 3 lol.

Shaky potatoes.

 

[jec1521]

He had the same problems while he was here. Great athlete. Good to very good shooter, but just has zero handle.

I think this is his ceiling. Nothing wrong with it. He's making a nice career for himself.

 

[ORANGEsPHK]

Wes is doing fine in LA. He camps out at the 3 points line and sets screens and the D has to respect his ability to hit the 3 pointer which opens up the D for the Laker's offense. He's not a huge threat but enough to keep the D honest. He may not be an All/Superstar but he has been playing solid for LA and contributing.

Most Laker fans I know are happy with his play, but I think expectations this year are pretty low. As long as Kobe gets the scoring record I think folks in LA will be happy; that's the gist I get from Laker fans anyway.