Joe Johnson may have been out of the NBA for a few seasons, but the recently-signed Boston Celtics guard knows he’s still more than capable of producing when he gets to his spots.
Johnson did just that Wednesday night, making the only shot he attempted later in Boston’s win over the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden.
Celtics head coach Ime Udoka shared how Johnson had a humorous message for his teammate upon returning to the locker room, too.
“He joked in the locker room, he said, ‘If I get them on that hip, they’re done, they’re dead,’ ” Udoka recalled during a postgame video conference. “So, we know what he is. Everybody said it when they walked in, ‘Joe’s a bucket.’ That’s what he is and he’s always been and so that’s not going to change. Happy for him.”
Johnson reacted to his made jumper after the game, as well. It came in the pick-and-roll and he got around a screen, kept the Cleveland defender on his hip and unleashed an effortless jumper from the elbow.
“Well, this is a pick-and-roll league. Once you can master the pick-and-roll, get to your spots, especially your sweet spots, it’s hard to stop guys like that, especially when you can make plays out of that,” Johnson said. “I never lose sight of that, or lost sight of that. So, just from watching the game I see how they play the pick-and-roll so if I’m gonna pick-and-roll you either got the lob, or you have the mid-range game or the floater. Luckily it went down.”
Johnson added: “It felt great. It felt great.”
Johnson, 40, shared his reaction to both hearing about the Celtics’ interest and then the signing itself before Boston’s game. It’s safe to say the seven-time NBA All-Star is enjoying his return to the league, after last playing during the 2017-18 season.
