The Clippers need to go to the next level, and what tribute Keane Johnson can make

Keane Johnson is still young and in good physical condition, and he still has a lot of room for improvement.

Pictured: Clippers rookie Keane Johnson is demonstrating his bouncing power.

Welcome to the 2021-22 Clips Nation Season Preview Series, where we'll dig deeper into what each player will keep us interested in in the upcoming season. Today's topic is: Can Keane Johnson achieve something in his rookie year?

I often use the 2002 World Cup as a watershed in age division, it was the first major sporting event I have watched in my life since I can remember, and you can roughly guess my age, and some people will laugh at me as an "old bone". That changed a bit, and the people I knew later grew into adulthood, but most of them weren't born when the 2002 World Cup was held. When I flipped through the Los Angeles Clippers' training camp roster list, I noticed that Keane Johnson was born in 2002, which was also surprising.

For a moment I seemed to feel an age crisis, but I did think about how exciting it was for the team and the players themselves. There can be such a young man in the team, a lot of life is waiting for him to enjoy, many new things are waiting for him to contact and learn, and good potential is waiting for him to tap. What could be better and better for a team that has its sights set on the future than this kind of thing?

When the Clippers listed rookies, Keane was the most excited of the rookies. His 48-inch (1.219m) vertical bounce broke the NBA joint trial jump record, reminding us that Keane's athletic talent is unquestionable. A few times I saw him playing in a Clippers jersey, I paid special attention to this issue. Think about it, in the summer league game against the Jazz, when he and Jason Preston teamed up, the two reached an aerial relay, a scene that made me smile.

Monster-like athleticism is an important part of today's NBA, but young players can't just rely on that ability, but also know how to better make that ability a weapon for themselves. It's still too early for Keane, but when it comes to how to better develop other aspects of ability, there's no doubt that Keane and the team are on the right path.

Before the start of the training camp, Lawrence Frank, president of basketball operations, said: "First we may focus on his ball-holding defense and the impact on the ball, and then through a lot of training, first stabilize his three-point ability." In the offensive and defensive conversion, Keane has the ability to break through and can complete the offensive end under the basket, which benefits from his tougher, more intense, more laborious and more energetic play, but this must start near the basket and then expand his range and offensive range. ”

It seems like Keane has a lot to improve, but you can feel that if management thinks he doesn't have to put it into practice and make a change, Frank won't talk about his strengths and weaknesses on the offensive and defensive ends. The Clippers can certainly help him in these areas. He's not the only player who came to the Clippers with a lower-than-average shooting percentage, the team was able to offer more room and a higher level of transfer to support players to go further. When he was at the University of Tennessee, he shot just 27 percent from three-point range and 70 percent from the free throw line, which will undoubtedly be one of the areas Keane needs to develop the most. It is worth mentioning that last year's Clippers were the team with the highest free throw shooting rate in league history.

Head coach Tyronn Lue's defensive plan could have prevented Keane from being too exposed to other teams on the defensive end (limiting playing time), just like Luke Kennard is on the court, but who wouldn't want the Clippers to have a wing elite on their side? In that sense, Keane's physicality does provide him with a solid guarantee, of course, as long as his level of effort catches up with the effort of the Clippers player when he played the Western Conference Finals last year.

It will be interesting to observe Keane's game-ready ability, especially given the look at various aspects of his offense and defense during the offseason and in training camp. He ran in the camp, playing with Lou, and given his height, others thought he was more likely to play in the No. 1 position. He is not tall in the NBA's forward line, and he is not tall enough to bounce to make up. For a team that doesn't get too many rebounds at the back, his rebounding ability is a big advantage.

The new season is approaching, and it remains to be seen what role the rookies will play, and Kawhi Leonard will be absent for a while, but they don't have as much playing time. However, being young is one of Keane Johnson's biggest strengths, and he's still young. Such a young lad, his age may make you feel old, but if he can cash in on his talent with the Clippers, his energetic performance can make you young again.