Stanley Johnson tries point guard - and excels

[Laimbeer]

Injuries at point guard have forced the Detroit Pistons to go off script for two straight days.

The misfortune forced Stanley Johnson to dust off his point guard skills from his high school days.

And the end result was the same as the first two days— Johnson excelled.

On a day when Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said the team didn’t practice very well, he said: “Stanley was really good today — really good. Even at the point. He played well.”...

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nba/pistons/2015/10/02/detroit-pistons-stanley-johnson/73238778/

[kurtis48239]

Just keeps getting better.

[joedumars1]

Already knew he can play Point Forward. One of the many reasons I wanted him, that is a huge asset to have in todays NBA from the SF position

[zeebneeb]

This is getting absurd for both Johnson, and fans. The expectations are quickly spiraling out of control.

So now he's a point shooting small power forward? That would make him Lebron magic james.

If he is actually this good it would be the biggest steal since Kobe Bryant at 13.

So much hype has actually brought down my expectations as the old saying goes, "to good to be true"

[hoophabit]

Yeah, it's just training camp chatter, but at the same time should be no shock that the position isn't entirely foreign to him. Kid played center for Mater Dei as a freshman and PG as a senior. Versatility is widely regarded as a good thing in the league these days. I get that folks don't want to get too high about Stanley. We've been let down so many times of late.

[Pharaoh]

This is getting absurd for both Johnson, and fans. The expectations are quickly spiraling out of control.

So now he's a point shooting small power forward? That would make him Lebron magic james.

If he is actually this good it would be the biggest steal since Kobe Bryant at 13.

So much hype has actually brought down my expectations as the old saying goes, "to good to be true"

Agree that everything about SJ is too good to be true.

Which is why I'm torn about the season starting!

[StunnaStan]

Sj is going to g destroy his rookie year. If he plays the 2, other shooting guards are gonna be frustrated trying to contain him and get past him. He will come in better than advertised.

Truthfully speaking, he shouldve been the #2 overall pick but these dumb draft sites dont know talent. The fact that he landed on the pistons is a blessing lol. I think Johnson should be the #1 option with reggie running the show. Kcp should produce this year as well. Only thing i worry about is which ersan ilyasova detroit gets. Hes been a up and down player but hopefully having better talent around him makes him more comfortable which leads to higher efficiency.

[ImHeisenberg]

Plays PG in a scrimmage. That's very different from a regular season game.

But it reinforces how highly SVG thinks of his ball handling, to some extent, I suppose.

[zeebneeb]

Plays PG in a scrimmage. That's very different from a regular season game.

But it reinforces how highly SVG thinks of his ball handling, to some extent, I suppose.

*Disclamier* I am not comparing him to Lebron.

One if the reasons Lebron is so valuable is because of his ability to initiate the offense, and bring the ball up the court taking pressure off the pg, and throwing wrinkles into the opposing teams defense.

Detroit hasn't had a secondary ball handler in quite some time and if Stanley can do that, it will only make Detroit that much better. Bringing the ball up the court and actually initiating the offense are two separate things.

Of course I say this with hope, not confidence that he will be able to do this, as very few combo forwards can. Very few.

[Laimbeer]

This is getting absurd for both Johnson, and fans. The expectations are quickly spiraling out of control.

So now he's a point shooting small power forward? That would make him Lebron magic james.

If he is actually this good it would be the biggest steal since Kobe Bryant at 13.

So much hype has actually brought down my expectations as the old saying goes, "to good to be true"

zeeb you are normally the king of high expectations, as surely as I'm the king of pessimism.

[MotownMadness]

Beast!!!

[Phenomenonsense]

Hope it just translates into some simple ability to make plays on the odd play.

[joedumars1]

My expectations this year aren't huge for him. His future is what I'm so hyped about

[cyclix]

Stanley can be Pippen

[zeebneeb]

Stanley can be Pippen

If Stanley Johnson turns into a Pippen level player, this group is winning multiple titles.

Stanley Johnson is not turning into one of the games 50 greatest players.

[Shady_]

Stanley can be Pippen

If Stanley Johnson turns into a Pippen level player, this group is winning multiple titles.

Stanley Johnson is not turning into one of the games 50 greatest players.

I think you have Pippen confused with Jordan..

Pippen is overrated, So can Stanley be Pippen?

maybe, it wouldn't be that much of a reach but the hype for SJ is outta control right now tho.

[detroitKG]

Stanley can be Pippen

If Stanley Johnson turns into a Pippen level player, this group is winning multiple titles.

Stanley Johnson is not turning into one of the games 50 greatest players.

I think you have Pippen confused with Jordan..

Pippen is overrated, So can Stanley be Pippen?

maybe, it wouldn't be that much of a reach but the hype for SJ is outta control right now tho.

Amen on Pippen..dude got so overrated from those bulls teams..great plater, but top 50 ever...yea no.

[zeebneeb]

Not to call either of you out, but yeah, that's exactly what I'm going to do.

Explain why either of you think Pippen is overated and one rule. You can't mention Jordan in any context.

Good luck.

[MrBigShot]

Even without MJ, Pippen is just a devastatingly good player. In 93-94 without MJ, Pip put up 22/9/6 while leading the Bulls to 51 wins. He's not a 1st option, and that's probably why he occasionally doesn't get the respect he deserves (but for the most part, he is rated pretty accurately). He's a 2nd option that is so good at being a 2nd option that he's better than a lot of 1st option players. Very respectable scoring, all time great perimeter defense, rebounds very well for his position, can handle the ball and play the role of a point forward...does literally everything you could ask of your 2nd best player.

Anyway...the expectations for SJ are through the roof. There's no way he can fulfill all of the hype people have propped up for him. 82 games, playing against the elite athletes on a regular basis, adjusting to a 24 second shot clock and the pace of the NBA game. It's a huge challenge. I'm going to sit back with minimal expectations and hope he surprises me flashes of brilliance, like he did all throughout summer league.

[Snakebites]

Yeah, I'm also going to call BS on Pippen being an overrated player. He was a slightly worse Grant Hill offensively with much better defense and the Bulls in 93-94 (first year sans Jordan) won two fewer regular season games than the year before. They also took the a Knicks team at its peak (a team that would reach the finals) to 7 games.

I realize the instinct as Pistons fans is to hate the guy, but lets not be irrational here, please.