Cam Johnson's productivity helped by seeing more action late in games for Suns

New starting Suns power forward Cameron Johnson is undergoing a positive on-court evolution in accordance with his new gig, reports Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports.

“Getting more used to that on a night-in, night-out basis, and also finishing the game, man, that’s something that I love doing,” Johnson said of his adjustment to the new responsibilities of the role. “Being in there and being part of that critical thinking on top of high-level basketball portion of the game, it’s a lot of fun.”

Through seven contests for the West’s top-seeded 6-1 Suns, the 6-foot-8 Phoenix big is averaging a career-best 14.9 PPG on .457/.440/.727 shooting splits, along with 3.9 RPG, 1.9 APG, and 1.3 SPG.

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

• Clippers star forward Kawhi Leonard only lasted two regular season games before knee issues flared up. L.A. head coach Tyronn Lue has provided a minor update on the state of the five-time All-Star’s health, noting that Leonard is “doing better and moving in a positive direction,” per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (Twitter link). Youngmisuk adds that Leonard will sit out the team’s upcoming two Texas road games. In his two healthy games for the Clippers, Leonard has played limited minutes as a reserve, averaging just 21 MPG.
• New Kings shooting guard Kevin Huerter has thus far managed to thrive with Sacramento, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “My role has the potential to expand a little bit more here,” Huerter said. “Just the way we’re built, the personnel, a lot of that has to do with [Sacrament center Domantas Sabonis] playing through a five-man.” The 6’7″ swingman is averaging 18.9 PPG, with a slash line of .506/.518/.789. He is also chipping in 3.9 APG, 2.9 RPG, and 0.6 SPG.
• While wondering whether Warriors star power forward Draymond Green would be as special in another team’s system as he has been in an 11-season partnership with Golden State that has yielded four NBA titles, Zach Lowe of ESPN reveals that the team has yet to discuss any potential deals for the 32-year-old big man, and at present do not intend to explore trades that would send him out of town. Green, who has a $27.6MM player option for the 2023/24 season, punched teammate Jordan Poole in the face during an argument and had to spend a portion of the club’s preseason away from the other Warriors. The team opted to extend the contracts of Poole and starting small forward Andrew Wiggins ahead of the 2022/23 season but did not do so with Green.