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#Rockets vs Hornets on Sun at 5p. Team will be playing their 12th gm in 16 days. Rookie Nick Johnson has started them all, avg'g 30 mins/gm.
— AdamWexlerCSN (@awexler) July 20, 2014
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Nick Johnson
Former Arizona Wildcats guard Nick Johnson was originally slated to take a flight to Manila, Philippines, Saturday to take part in a fund-raising event with other NBA players on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Houston’s playoff run in the Las Vegas NBA Summer League has put that trip on hold. The Rockets have advanced to the semifinals against Charlotte. The game will be played at the Thomas & Mack Center on Sunday at 5 p.m. The winner will play in the title game Monday at 6 p.m.
As the above Tweet states, the Rockets will play their 12th game Sunday in 16 days, dating to the Orlando Summer League. The busy summer for Johnson started early last month when he began a whirlwind of 16 workouts for various NBA teams before the draft.
The experience is a good one for Johnson, not only because he has turned heads in Orlando and Las Vegas, but the NBA season will be a grind.
Once Houston’s training camp starts in early October, Johnson will take part in an 82-game regular-season schedule that will run from Oct. 28 to April 15. The NBA playoffs follow, potentially another two months to June.
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Nick Johnson says snubs have added 'fuel' to fire. @paulcoro reports: http://t.co/IC2zDuoLpH
— azcentral sports (@azcsports) July 18, 2014
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Nick Johnson with the big put back dunk. Very active. #Rockets https://t.co/MKYQAjal9p
— Hiren Joshi (@htown747) July 19, 2014
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At least Johnson has the athleticism, youth and confidence to handle the arduous schedule. He seems to be holding up well this summer, although his tired legs could be affecting his long-range shooting percentages.
He has made only 27.3 percent of his three-point attempts (12 of 44) at Orlando and Las Vegas. He is shooting a respectable 43.1 percent overall (53 of 123). That means within the arc, Johnson has made 41 of 79 attempts, a highly effective 51.9 percent from the floor.
Johnson has also averaged 5.5 rebounds in 11 games, indicative of his hustle, athleticism and activity around the basket. He has 13 steals in the 11 summer-league games. He had 26 for Arizona last season in 35 games.
He has 39 assists compared to 30 turnovers, which could be a concern. Often overlooked, however, is the lack of familiarity with teammates in both summer leagues. Houston has employed different personnel in Orlando and Las Vegas.
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NICK JOHNSON SUMMER LEAGUE STATS
Source: NBA.com. o-Orlando. lv-Las Vegas.
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He also writes articles for Bleacher Report and Lindy’s College Sports.
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