SEATTLE -- The Seattle SuperSonics rescued Eddie Johnson from obscurity in the middle of the regular season. The former All-Star guard has used his role as a reserve to try to return the favor.
Johnson played eight seasons for the Atlanta Hawks, but his NBA career appeared over when he entered a substance abuse clinic last year after being released by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He played 20 games in the Continental Basketball Association before signing a 10-day contract with the Sonics in February.
Seattle extended Johnson's contract and Coach Bernie Bickerstaff has used him to give his offense a quick boost in the playoffs.
With the Los Angeles Lakers leading Seattle 28-18 late in the first quarter of Game 2 of the Western Conference final, Johnson came off the bench to score 10 points during a Sonics charge that put them ahead 41-34 with 8:35 left in the first half.
The Lakers eventually won the game and own a 2-0 advantage entering Game 3 of the series this afternoon, but Johnson would like to think his performance served as a drum-roll announcing his return to form.
'That felt good,' said Johnson, who collected 15 points, 3 assists and 2 steals in 24 minutes. 'The thing about it is that the Lakers play an aggressive man-on-man defense and I felt I could penetrate and make them leave their guys and come after me.'
'It worked, but it was just us making adjustments to the way they were playing,' he said. 'Now, they will adjust and we'll have to do something else.'
Johnson, who played for the Tampa Bay Thrillers in the CBA, calls the 1986-87 season 'my fantasy ride.'
The 6-foot-2 guard, who played in the 1980 and 1981 NBA All-Star games, was traded by the Hawks to the Cleveland Cavaliers before last season. He calls his year in Cleveland 'a waste.'
He voluntarily entered a drug clinic, and when he got out, joined the Thrillers because he needed visibility.
'I knew I was going to have to work my way back into the league,' he said. 'I went about it the right way, in a professional manner. 'I knew someone would notice if I worked hard at my craft.'
Bickerstaff saw a need for Johnson because the playoffs were approaching and the Sonics did not have a guard with more than three years experience in the league.
'Eddie has been a positive influence on and off the court for our younger guards,' Bickerstaff said. 'Problems? No, just the opposite.'
Johnson was an immediate success, scoring in double figures during his first few games and eventually averaging 9 points in 24 games with the Sonics.
'Those first few games I was just playing on adrenalin,' he said. 'I hadn't had a preseason and I'd only been playing a couple of months so it was just a matter of time until my conditioning caught up with me.'
Bickerstaff went back to his younger guards near the end of the season, but he's not afraid to call Johnson's number at any time.
'Eddie really helped us against the Lakers the other night,' Bickerstaff said. 'But with the bench we've got, production will decide how many minutes each player gets in each game. There's no time to waste in the playoffs; if you are producing you stay in, if not, you come out.'
Johnson accepts his role.
'Physically, I've worked my way into good shape,' Johnson said. 'But I leave the minutes up to Bernie because he knows what's to be done.
'Listen, Bernie cares about his players,' he said. 'We all worry about ourselves, but when you've got someone like Bernie caring for you it really makes a difference. I figure if you can't play for Bernie you can't play for anyone.'
