Name of the Night 2/4 - Keon "Freon" Johnson

While it will likely be a short lived run, the pairing of Keon Johnson and D'Angelo Russell has been the coldest thing to hit Texas since Winter Storm Cora. After two big time wins against the Houston Rockets, the young Nets guard has secured his spot as a starter in the rotation, and projects to be the tank commander of choice for the team. While he has not yet earned an official nickname, his ice cold performance next to the man with ice in his veins has led me to dub him "Freon", a nickname that I will aggressively be pushing over the rest of silly season.

Keon has been most impactful on the defensive end, where he is able to leverage his athletic ability to just be a pest to opposing ball handlers. Best known for having the highest vert in NBA history (not really relevant to generating steals, but a cool fact nonetheless), he is an athlete in nearly every sense, being hypermobile and quick footed as well. The Nets are a team full of competent defenders, and Keon is able to thrive in between the passing lanes as a result, without having to worry about any major weak links in the lineup (the whole team is a weak link, but that is mostly on the other end). He is currently grabbing 1.3 steals per game over the last two weeks, and it has been an integral part of his fantasy game. While it is far from being an elite number by any means, he has paced the Nets in the category for well over the last two months. He sits at a Z-Score of .48 over the last two weeks for the category.

The other notable aspect of Keon's game stems from his confidence to take his shots. The key point of course being the confidence, as his shot has been falling at a well below average rate for any NBA player. He has narrowly become a positive in the points category (impressive for waiver players to consistently achieve), and has been averaging 17.5 points per game over the last couple weeks. The most encouraging aspect of this is his green light, as the guard has averaged over 14 attempts a night in that span, and should only eat up more and more usage once the Nets start to really embrace the tank. While he is an absolute brick, shooting a mere 42% as of late (that is a hot streak for him as well), he is definitely contributing the volume required from a rosterable player.

Keon Johnson has been a bit of an enigma, flashing the ability to generate great volume at the expense of his percentages. He basically checks all of the tank commander boxes, showing upside to create for others in a limited capacity while also being able to volume score when called upon. Johnson has ranked top 90 over the last two weeks, cresting just inside the top 60 over the last week. Does he have a long term future in the league? Likely not. But his jack of all trades ability to play the game is going to be essential for a tanking Brooklyn team already fielding a G-League lineup. He is a great add going into the deadline, with bigger room to fill into his role should Cam Johnson be moved and/or Russell and Cam Thomas remain out. Make Freon happen people!

Strong Cats: Points, Steals, Free Throw Percentage, Turnovers

Weak Cats: Field Goal Percentage, Blocks, Rebounds

Add Priority: ⭐⭐⭐⭐★

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