Cam Johnson is enjoying this rendition of the NBA playoffs just like the rest of us.

From a purist basketball fan’s perspective, this year’s Larry O’Brien pursuit has been an entertainment spectacle on par with an M. Night Shyamalan film. With every game — every 50/50 moment — the league seemed get the outcome it needed to further its postseason plot.

But while captivating, it also hasn’t been a playoffs without bitterness or what we call “hate watching” on Twitter. With two rivals making strong campaigns for the Eastern Conference crown (one particularly close to home), chances are, most Nets fans who watched any postseason ball did so with clenched fists and anxious hearts.

Johnson, who I should say showed no bitterness toward his friend Mikal Bridges or the New York Knicks — just the fact that he wasn’t able to participate in the postseason this year — probably still had the same “favorite moment” as the lot of you nonetheless.

“Gotta be Tyrese’s shot,” he said with a chuckle. “The celebration and everything, I think that’s what we want as NBA fans. Those exciting moments, those big time plays. Props to Tyrese, props to the entire Pacers team for stepping up big and making plays when they needed them. That’s what this game is about.”

“I loved it too,” he said in particular of Haliburton’s remastered “choke” celebration. “It’s the whole underdog kind of — it comes from being in small market team. Tyrese is embracing it. The whole team is embracing it. And it’s cool to watch it.”

The rest of the episode focused on Nic Batum, who sat down for an interview with host Tommy Alter. But before that, Johnson provided some analysis on the postseason games we’ve seen thus far, the few still to come, and the story that’s dominated the NBA news cycle leading up to them.

“It’s kind of crazy to say this, but the initial thought now is, there’s no really shock,” said Johnson of Tom Thibodeau’s firing. “I guess it kind of adds to complete that every coach of the year from ‘18-’23 has kind of found a degree of success and then in the midst of it been let go. But you’ve got to look at it from a team building perspective. That team has a really good roster and they’re really close. I guess maybe ownership, front office is just looking at it like, ‘What can get us over the hump?’”

“I think the way these teams look at it, is [coaches are] interchangeable pieces just like players are interchangeable pieces — and sometimes it seams like they treat them as even more interchangeable than maybe players,” he added. “If something’s not going right, they’re very, very, very quick to put that on the coach.”

Johnson, now a six year NBA vet, has had four head coaches. Three have been in Brooklyn if you count Kevin Ollie.

“Bringing in a new coaching staff is very hit or miss with your group, especially when you’re a team that’s knocking on the door, that’s right there, that just needs a little push over the top,” said Johnson. “It doesn’t always make sense to me why you go in a completely different direction. Think of how much of their program, their identity, they built out over the years, and how much it’s gonna take for them to start that over with a new coach. To me, I don’t really see the upside in it maybe as much as the people who are making the decisions do.”

For what it’s worth, that’s something Johnson likely won’t have to worry about for some time, that is, if he survives another summer at the front of Brooklyn’s display shelf. Jordi Fernández established himself as Brooklyn’s lead, and for now, perhaps lone pillar in building for the future last season. The first year head coach had his team fighting above its weight class almost from start to finish — the a hallmark of a good coach.

Johnson, as everyone knows by now, was a big part of that. His self-creating skills started to bud, his presence as a leader was felt, and his career highs included points, assists, minutes, field goal percentage, free throws, and threes made per game.

“I’ve really enjoyed this playoffs,” Johnson concluded. “I hate the fact that I’m not playing in them, but I’ve really enjoyed watching them as a basketball fan and someone who has love for this game, and I think it’s great for our league.”

“Next year,” said Alter right after.

Well, I’m not so sure about that, but I like the confidence.

And no, he didn’t discuss rumors that he may once again be part of trade rumors.