The Denver Nuggets made one of the biggest splashes of this past NBA offseason when they traded Michael Porter Jr. and his hefty contract, along with an unprotected 2032 first-round pick, to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for stretch forward Cam Johnson.  The Nuggets have gotten off to a solid 4-2 start to the season, but Johnson has struggled to find his footing in Denver so far.

After averaging 18.8 points per game in 57 appearances with the Nets last season, Johnson is down to just 8.5 points per game across the Timberwolves' first six. Throughout a full season, Johnson hasn't scored less than 12.5 points per game since 2022, and his career low was 8.8 points per game as a rookie, about where his average is sitting at the present. 

As he typically has been with his teammates over the course of his career, Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic has been nothing but supportive toward Johnson. After the Nuggets downed the Sacramento Kings 130-124 on Monday, Jokic explained why Johnson is still trying to find his way with his new team and expressed confidence in his teammates' ability to do so.

"I think he doesn't want to mess it up, you know, so maybe he overthinks sometimes," Jokic said. "Maybe he's still looking for his shots, he has looks. But that's fine, I think that's normal. He's a smart player, he's going to figure it out, and we need to help him, encourage him to shoot the ball or to drive the ball."

Rallying His Teammate

Jokic also detailed words of encouragement to his new teammate and also made it clear to him that even if his scoring averages aren't where they typically are, his presence is still incredibly vital for a Denver Nuggets team that has legitimate championship expectations.

"I talked to him, I told him, maybe it's not going to be your night, maybe you're just going to have five points and you need to be fine with that."

Johnson is coming off just his second double-digit scoring outing of the season on Monday, as he scored 10 points on 5-of-12 shooting. Johnson's struggles from beyond the arc continued, however, as he missed all five attempts to drop his 3-point shooting percentage down to 25% for the season.

The 29-year-old Johnson will look to find the net a few more times on Wednesday, as the Nuggets are set for a 7 p.m. local time tip-off at home against the Miami Heat.