Love/Hate Series: Alize Johnson

What we love about Alize Johnson

In one word, motor. He. Does. Not. Quit. You can power the city of Indianapolis with him just running on a treadmill. He is a player who does not need touches to fuel his desire to play hard and work harder than his competition.

In the following highlight reel from the Pacers’ Summer League game against the Rockets, Johnson was arguably the hardest-working guy on the floor. Holiday may have stolen the show, but Johnson was the workhorse.

Johnson’s hustle is something that meshes well with the identity and brand of Pacers’ basketball. He is a player who could easily be a guy off the bench that will make momentum-shifting plays, and the Indiana crowd always loves hustle off the bench (a la Lance).

Coaches love that sort of thing, so it was no surprise Nate McMillan talked so glowingly of him during Summer League.

Hustle isn’t just some intangible, either. He attacked both ends of the floor and created opportunities for himself. A loose ball easily becomes a basket as Johnson flys around looking to make the play.