Chicago Bulls: Proof of an outside game for Alize Johnson

Although he was likely signed to primarily compete for backup minutes at the four for the Chicago Bulls heading into next season, there could be some versatility to the game of newly acquired power forward Alize Johnson. The Bulls got a good value signing out of Johnson, on a two-year contract worth a total of around $3.6 million.

It’s difficult to conclusively say for a player like Johnson that still doesn’t have all that much game action under his belt with one team in the NBA that his skill set is going to fit into one particular niche. Especially with how much progress he’s made in the last two seasons in terms of his overall efficiency, there’s a lot of possibilities as to where Johnson can take his game next.

Johnson spent his first two seasons in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers, and then last season with the Brooklyn Nets. He was the 50th overall pick of the Pacers in the second round of the 2018 NBA Draft out of Missouri State.

The best season statistically for Johnson was in 2020-21 with the Nets. In 18 games played with the Nets during the regular season, he averaged around five points per game, five rebounds, one assist, 0.5 steals, and 0.5 blocks. But he put up those numbers in just over 10 minutes per game.

Throughout his first three seasons in the NBA, Johnson became known for his improving on-ball defense, great rebounding, and good rim protection. He can also score pretty efficiently if he’s within 10 feet of the rim.

Chicago Bulls could at least get a decent floor spacer at the four out of Alize Johnson

But where Johnson tends to start getting limited is with his ability to space the floor on offense. A lot of the physically limited forwards with his length and rebounding ability in the NBA in this day and age have the ability to space the floor. But Johnson shot just 16.7 percent from beyond the arc with the Nets last season on six attempts.

Over the course of three regular seasons played in the NBA now, Johnson has just 15 total attempts from beyond the arc. But in his first two seasons, he did shoot 40 percent from beyond the arc on 10 attempts.

There’s also a sign that he still has the ability to shoot the ball at least decently-well from three-point range. On around eight attempts last season on deep two-point jump shots (10-16 feet from the rim), Johnson shot an efficient 71.4 percent.

And during his first season at Missouri State back during the 2016-17 college hoops campaign, Johnson shot a solid 38.8 percent from beyond the arc on more than three attempts per game. His three-point shooting did regress at Missouri State in his second and final season with the program, shooting roughly 19 percent from beyond the arc.

Yet, that still amounted to roughly a 33 percent clip shooting from beyond the arc in two seasons in college. And he improved that mark down the stretch during that 2017-18 campaign with Missouri State, where he shot around 35 percent from beyond the arc in the second half of the regular season.

There are also signs from when Johnson played in the G-League that he can be a solid floor spacer. In 65 games played in the G-League in the last three seasons, Johnson shot around 36 percent from downtown on nearly three attempts per game.

I’m not necessarily saying that Johnson is going to be an elite three-point shooter for the Bulls. But there are signs from his game in the past that he can be at least an average floor spacer, which could really help this offense when he’s on the floor. Head coach Billy Donovan thrives with his offensive system when there are multiple capable floor spacers out on the court for his team.

If Johnson can at least shot around 34 or 35 percent from beyond the arc next season for the Bulls, that will be extremely valuable for this team. It is true that the Bulls are going to get a very inconsistent shooter in Johnson if they try to use him as a floor spacer, but that is fine if the attempts are minimized.

All that the Bulls need out of Johnson is purely the ability to be an occasional threat from beyond the arc. Like I said, if he shoots around 34-35 percent from downtown on 0.5-1.0 attempts per game next season that will be a success for the Bulls.

Johnson and the Bulls are set to open up Training Camp on Sep. 28, in roughly two weeks now. And then, the preseason slate tips off at home at the United Center on Oct. 5 against Lauri Markkanen and the Cleveland Cavaliers.