The third issue of Hardwood Paroxysm Quarterly is out! A lot of people who put in a tireless amount of work for this publication every three months, and it’s always worth a deep dive. It’s some of the most interesting NBA writing out there, the illustrations are great, and each issue is only $5. (Plus, to a person, everyone contributing is great.)
The latest edition includes an excellent piece from Kevin Yeung on James Johnson and his weird place, both in the rotation and in the hearts of Toronto Raptors fans. Here’s an excerpt:
It just didn’t pan out. Johnson has started over 30 games this season for the Raptors, averaging roughly six points in over 20 minutes per game as a starter. By March, he’d been overtaken by Norman Powell, the 46th overall selection in last summer’s draft, who has since emerged as one of the draft’s top steals. Even with Carroll returning to action late in the season, Powell figures to be a major part of the Raptors’ postseason approach. In another life, that might’ve been Johnson, but instead, he’s tumbled another notch down the depth chart.
In November, Johnson sent out a tweet that made some ripples. “#Mood. Under-utilized” he wrote. He had butted heads with Casey during his first go-around with the Raptors, which ended with a teamimposed suspension late in the 2011-12 season (an internal matter, the team had called it) followed by a trade to the Kings in the offseason. It would’ve been all too easy to cast Johnson as the misfit. Again.
Johnson knows that. In fact, he might be the first to admit it. When he reflects upon the earlier chapters of his career, he does so with cutting brevity.
“Immature. Simple as that.”
