2019 NBA Mock Draft: The Boston Celtics clean up
player. 170. . G/F. Kentucky. Keldon Johnson. 10
Johnson was fantastic helping to put away the Volunteers at home last Saturday night, flashing the incredible shooting ability that will make his offensive game stand out to NBA talent evaluators. Early in the game, forward P.J. Washington got the majority of touches and coach John Calipari was running the offense through him to exploit the mismatches against Tennessee’s smaller bigs and their poor transition defense. However, Calipari then transitioned to a lineup with four bench players and Johnson, at which point the freshman wing took over.
They ran the same hammer set for Johnson a few times consecutively at that point in the game, freeing Johnson to drive toward the basket. His first made field goal was an open floater off that play over the top of the defense. Then, when starting point guard Ashton Hagans returned to the game in a two-point guard lineup, Johnson got open off of Hagans’ penetration and took advantage of lazy Tennessee defense to make both.
Calipari made good use of the lineup with both Hagans and backup Emmanuel Quickley in the game and Johnson was able to bend the defense off-ball. He beat Tennessee wing Admiral Schofield cutting backdoor across the baseline and Schofield ran into a pindown screen to give Johnson an open 3 from the corner. Swish.
Altogether, Johnson scored 11 straight points in that stretch to give Kentucky a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. His length will stand out for his defensive upside but his offense and shooting ability are what stand out most right now. Johnson is shooting 41.4 percent from distance and would bring needed versatility on the wing to Charlotte.