Lakers depth chart breakdown: Wesley Johnson

Lakers’ Wesley Johnson goes up for two points second half action at Staples Center Sunday, March 30, 2014. Lakers defeated the Suns 115-99. ( Photo by David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News )

Lakers’ Wesley Johnson goes up for two points second half action at Staples Center Sunday, March 30, 2014. Lakers defeated the Suns 115-99. ( Photo by David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News )

Below is the fifth in a series previewing the story lines surrounding each player on the Lakers’ roster for the 2014-15 season. This post focuses on Lakers forward Wesley Johnson.

1. Will Wesley Johnson start?
Lakers coach Byron Scott currently feels that way, believing that his athleticism and defensive talent will become valuable in a lineup that otherwise features aging veterans without many defensive reinforcements. Scott also argued Nick Young’s prolific scoring will help jumpstart the team’s second unit and not become diluted because of Kobe Bryant’s presence. But Scott revealed his thinking last week in a wide-ranging interview, stressing that this spot is not solidified partly because he wants both players to compete for the role in training camp.

2. Will Johnson become a consistent player?
Johnson frequently made the Lakers’ organization and their fans leap out of their seats last season. That happened for different reasons. Johnson’s gravity-defying athleticism made the Lakers stare in awe, such as when he made a game-winning alley-oop lob against Portland in April. Johnson’s lack of consistency also prompted the Lakers to scratch their heads.

Scott sounded puzzled in providing an explanation to explain Johnson’s inconsistency after watching him play last season as an analyst for Time Warner Cable Access SportsNet. But it appeared Johnson’s hustle partly depended on how well he produced offensively. It also seemed that Johnson became lost on various issues, including court awareness, defensive rotations and what his role should entail. It did not help that Johnson’s laid-back demeanor suggested indifference toward the urgency in correcting his mistakes.

Surely, Bryant’s increased presence this season will help Johnson take care of these problems. But if Johnson will ever shed his reputation as a disappointing fourth overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft, he will have to show more self-motivation in ensuring he becomes a more reliable player.


3. Johnson should feel more comfortable playing at small forward than power forward.
As much as he flourished under Mike D’Antoni’s system, Johnson also seemed overwhelmed with the heavy task D’Antoni envisioned in Johnson becoming a Shawn Marion-type player capable of guarding nearly all positions. Johnson noted that he relished the opportunities, but that he felt overwhelmed with all the information he had to study to prepare for various matchups.

It appears that burden will ease up. Considering the Lakers have a loaded frontcourt, it seems unlikely Johnson would play at power forward. Instead, he would devote most of his efforts at small forward and defend the opponent’s top wing player. This could prevent Johnson from feeling physically overwhelmed when he had mixed success guarding bulky big men, such as the Clippers’ Blake Griffin or Memphis’ Zach Randolph. But it will also give Johnson less of an excuse not to feel prepared for his latest job description. It will become critical Johnson masters this responsibility considering it will not serve Bryant’s health well both to carry the team in scoring and on defending the opposing team’s top player.

4. Johnson’s athleticism could determine the Lakers’ pace.
Scott gushed often about the possibility that his personnel mixed with sharp albeit aging veterans and undeveloped albeit speedy young talent could give the Lakers a dangerous identity. Of course, holes remain in the roster regarding their defensive capability, how well role players will reach their potential and how healthy both Bryant and Steve Nash will become. But the Lakers also have the ability to play at a deliberate speed with their starting lineup, while the team’s bench accelerates the pace in the middle of the first quarter.

Johnson will play a large factor in determining whether the Lakers can fully take advantage of such an opportunity. If he starts, Johnson will have to defend the team’s top defender and produce on fast-break attempts while his other teammates will rely more on their fundamentals and smarts. If Johnson comes off the bench or at least mixes in with the second unit, his speed and athleticism could push the Lakers’ accelerator into overdrive.

5. Johnson will need to improve his outside shooting. His three-point shooting last season perfectly mirrors someone hitting it big at the poker table only to lose all their chips with one poorly played hand. Consider Johnson’s marksmanship from three-point range in November (45.7 percent), December (27.5 percent), January (34 percent), February (50 percent), March (22.2 percent) and April (41.9 percent).

Johnson’s inconsistency would seem more understandable if the poor marks coincided with defenders paying more attention to him following a strong start. Or if his wavy shooting marks reflected Johnson’s playing time fluctuating throughout the season. There’s a few problems, though. Johnson’s minutes stayed in the mid-20s except for February (34.5 minutes), a time when teammates kept taking turns receiving treatment in the trainer’s room. Any heightened defensive pressure seems moot since Johnson recovered from shooting slumps only to see it dip down again.

It feels even more head-scratching considering Johnson received the same amount of looks throughout the season both in attempts and where he his shots came from on the floor. The Lakers cannot afford such fluctuating performances considering the team’s three-point shooting will largely influence whether Bryant can delegate his burden to others. But if Johnson encounters similar struggles this season, he cannot allow it to affect the rest of his hustle on rebounding and defense.

RELATED:

Lakers depth chart breakdown: Kobe Bryant

Lakers depth chart breakdown: Steve Nash

Lakers depth chart breakdown: Jordan Hill

Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter and on Facebook. E-mail him at mark.medina@langnews.com