Wesley Johnson: C
If you just looked at his basic numbers and shooting efficiency, it would be far easier to give Wesley Johnson a far lower grade. He’s struggled to find his shot all year, currently sitting at 36.1 percent for the season and only 28 percent from three with 0.6 makes in his 13 minutes per game. His percentage from three is only good enough for the worst on the entire team, ahead of just Blake Griffin (only 22 attempts) and, you guessed it, the non-shooting DeAndre Jordan.
For someone the Clippers’ want to operate as a 3-and-D guy off the bench, that’s not good enough. However, there is plenty of reason to believe that percentage will climb up. Which is also why I’m not cutting his grade too much at this relatively early stage of the season (he’s only played in 20 games).
The real reason why Johnson deserves a decent passing grade is his defense. It’s the most important strength of his game that the Clippers miss whenever Doc gives playing time to Pierce instead, and Johnson playing hard has helped him be a real contributor.
Even though the team has experienced some defensive decline as of late, Johnson’s help defense, energy, timely switching, length, positioning, and ability to guard a couple of positions on the wing has made a real difference on the second unit. The Clippers allowing just 98 points per 100 possessions when Johnson is on the floor and him tying with Luc Mbah a Moute for the second highest Defensive Box/Plus Minus (2.2) on the team says a lot.
When the shots starts falling, that C grade will definitely go up.