Is it time to start Stanley and bring Morris off the bench?

[Todd3]

I know SJ hasn't earned it (though he's been playing better of late), but now that Morris isn't really playing good either, I feel we might as well be getting our rookie experience instead.

I also think he would be a little better fit with regards to our ball movement issue. He is ball hogging too, but he's usually at least moving with the ball when he has it, creating some kind of action that can lead to ball movement. As opposed to Morris, who just gets it in the post and doesn't budge until a contested midrange shot has been taken.

[DetroitPistons]

Nope. Morris has sucked the past few games but was great the previous games. If SJ was lighting it up then I would consider it but Morris is still better despite his ugly play recently. SJ has a ways to go. I expect him to be more of a contributor and potential starter next season.

[Todd3]

Nope. Morris has sucked the past few games but was great the previous games. If SJ was lighting it up then I would consider it but Morris is still better despite his ugly play recently. SJ has a ways to go. I expect him to be more of a contributor and potential starter next season.

Don't you think Morris' ball stopping is an issue though? Even when he makes his shots he is still bogging down the offense as a whole.

So my thinking is less about SJ and more about Morris just not fitting, and SJ just being next in line at that position.

I also wonder if some of Stanley's over aggression is him over trying to prove he should be starting, and if we put him in the starting lineup maybe it has a calming effect and just settles in & lets the game come to him.

[BadWolf]

I really only watched the clippers game, so I might be off.
Reggie looks mostly for his shot, he ignores the wings, even on the break. No idea whether this is continues problem or just that game.
Drummond played great, but when they started hacking him, he was taken off his game and the whole offense and defense stalled. Great move by Doc. This can be partially ignored during the season, but could become a big liability in playoffs.
Morris and his game are probably better suited for the bench, though he earned a lot of minutes.
Just my two cents...

[Liqourish]

I think Stanley and the team would benefit more from him being on the floor with Dre/Reggie for the PnR. But I'm not sure if Ersan or Morris should come off the bench. Seeing both with 4 bench guys when Stan goes to his full line-up changes does inspire confidence in either option to be honest.

[DBC10]

Our offense is extremely stagnant. Morris is much suited as a 7th man off the bench and let him have his against the secondaries of the league. Now that he's regressed to the mean, he's been exposed as the ball stopper he is.

We need a spot up shooter at the SF spot and we should look a lot more fluid.

[Arp590]

I think Marcus is better suited off the bench, where he can be the main guy and get his.
Him being a black hole on the bench isn't really a big issue and will probably help us.
The starting lineup should be more complementary players to Reggie/Drummond.

At this point it looks like Marcus needs the ball to be effective, so bring him off the bench.

[Billl]

SJ has been bad. Not just mediocre - bad. For november, he has 3 times as many turnovers as 3's. He's forcing up really bad shots and has been a foul machine. He picked up 5 last night in 16 minutes. He's playing limited minutes and still racking up 4-5 fouls half the time.

I'm still high on him as a prospect, but he needs to earn the starting spot with his play. He needs to step up and command more minutes off the bench. They are there for the taking, but he hasn't taken them yet. He could easily be racking up 25+ mpg backing up the 2 and 3, but he's making so many mistakes that SVG won't leave him out there. Fortunately, it's early in the season and there is plenty of time for the rook to turn it around.

[Pork N Chili]

I've thought this since the 3rd game. Just look at the ball movement when Morris is on the floor compared to when Johnson is: it's literally night and day. Every time Morris gets the ball, it's instant iso to a mid range fadeaway. Hell, there was a point against the Lakers where instead of taking it in for an easy layup when the Pistons had numbers in transition, he stepped back into a fadeaway miss. Sure, Johnson is struggling with his shot, but I think (and many of us think) it's because he's not used to coming off the bench and being an instant spark. Morris however has the type of game that would be perfect as a 6th man in this offense (until Jennings comes back of course). I'd much rather sacrifice a small dip in scoring for a large increase in ball movement and passing, and I believe it's time to start Stanley.

[vic]

YES. Johnson moves better in half-court and in transition. That's what the starters need.

Marcus Morris post up game clogs up the paint just like Greg Monroe did. He's 6'9 pf/sf just like Josh Smith.

Only difference is he's a bit better on defense than Monroe/Smith. On the offensive side- It's like de ja vu all over again.

[Maker_84]

no SJ sucks, at least Morris can score points here and there

[Montanabadboy]

I voted no. I don't believe this recent rough patch is cause to overreact and start making changes, that are probably lateral at best. Give guys time to grow into their roles. Though I do agree that Morris is better suited coming off the bench, until SJ takes the starting spot from him, nothing should be given to him. At 5-5 we're still ahead of the curve in my opinion. This whole team has a lot to learn about playing together.

[A-Wins]

No.

Small slump from Morris doesn't mean we should be totally reactionary. I'm also not a fan of simply gifting Stanley the starting spot. He needs to earn it, as others here have pointed out.

[bballnmike]

I'd say no. The only argument that could maybe be made is if you think Marcus would do better with the second unit, give them an offensive boost. That could maybe work. I think we all agree SJ hasn't earned it yet though.

[Snakebites]

Morris is a bad player, but Stanley isn't ready yet. Making him a starter now could impede his development. Too much too soon is not good.

[StunnaStan]

First off, the fact that were talking about sj starting over morris shows how the team is lacking any direction atm. I've said it since last november and ill say it now, STANLEY JOHNSON IS A SHOOTING GUARD! He should be starting over KCP or morris and ill explain why.

we have to first break down our starters this season. we have a point guard who over-dribbles, plays at a slow pace, and doesn't make his teammates better. our shooting guard is skinny/weak, doesnt triple threat, shoots long jumpers, doesnt have moves he can use on the perimeter other than putting his head down and driving. our small foward is slow footed, lacks play making ability, and not efficient (the fact that he leads the league in minutes and cant score 15 a night is hilarious). Our stretch pf cant rebound, cant always get his shot off, and cant defend. then theres drummond who is great at scoring off rebounds. but when we give dre post feeds and he shoots freethrows, its cringe worthy (although hes shown a improved hook)

all that said, if your an imposing team, think of how easy it is to gameplan for the pistons. id tell my point guard to give rj space to over-dribble until he funels the ball to the worst freethrow shooter in the league (dre). you show a hand to close out to lyasova and morris and kcp take long distance 2 pointers. other than drummonds rebounding, guarding the pistons is extremely easy

whats happening to johnson is similar to what happend to jeremy lamb, harden, and reggie jackson in okc but theres one HUGE difference. reggie harden and lamb are players that need shot attempts but know when your on a team with kevin durant, westbrook and ibaka, you have to fit into their style of play and fulfill other roles. Theres is no durant, harden, or westbrook in detroit. theres KCP and Marcus Morris lol. 2 guys who've been in the league about 3-5 years each and i can confidently say will never be all star level players. kcp and morris have NO all star games to look foward too. kcp and morris wont ever avg 18ppg for a season. its not within their skill sets at this level. at this point, what you see out of those 2 is roughly what your going to get every night from those 2.

we cna all agree that Stanley Johnson has the potential to be a big time player in the nba at some point or another. we also know that during training camp, Stanley johnson was the best player on the roster and he outplayed morris and kcp during preseason despite playing less time than both of them. we all saw how he dominated preseason. we all saw how he can mix up his game( drives, post-ups, sealing his man freethrow line extended, steals to fastbreaks, etc). all that considered and i ask myself why the hell kcp and morris start over this dude.

we bring him off the bench and place him in the corner. theres many times in the offense where he might want the ball at a certain spot or at a certain moment, and the pistons will dick around with the ball and give it to sj with 5 seconds on the shot clock. like wtf. its gotten so bad, ive noticed the team looking to setup bumass anthony tolliver before getting sj the ball. all detroit is doing is slowly but surely breaking sj's confidence. theres been times over the last 3-4 games where he gets a rebound and rather than going coast to coast like hes fully capable of doing, he'll ackwardly stop the break to give to whoever our quote on quote "point guard" is only for it to lead to a bad shot attempt or turnover. his shooting has been off, but id attribute that to him being over anxious. that anxious comes from thinking he'd be starting to being a bench guy who gets pulled for any little mistake he makes. If we start Johnson and gave him reggie jackson's greenlight, i think we'd have a better record atm. if we play him at this correct position, he'd be able to exploit his mismatches at the shooting guard position.

the rate at which the team is going,were looking at 1 of 2 outcomes for the season.

outcome 1- barely make the playoffs to get swept or win 1 game. end up with the 16-20th pick in the draft (which wont do us any good)

outcome 2- miss the playoffs but win too many games to get a worthwhile pick.

the east is very close atm and playing/starting sj could be what detroit needs to get the ball rolling again.

[StunnaStan]

Morris is a bad player, but Stanley isn't ready yet. Making him a starter now could impede his development. Too much too soon is not good.

playing a player early in his career can only help the player. its not like sj is a arrogant dude who feels entitled. i bet you okc wish they can go back in time and redo how they brought harden along. the rate at which svg is handling the stanley johnson situation, i can see Sj being traded weather is be a year from now or 3 years from now and whatever team he ends up on will better use his talents.

[Spider156]

No

Stanley needs to grow up and play smarter. He's been horrible in the first 10 games. I'll give him the rookie wall. But this is unacceptable. The coach is doing a good job with his minutes. He doesn't deserve any more than he's getting.

[Spider156]

Contrary to what I said, one solution is to move Morris to the PF position and start Stanley at SF. Morris is quicker than Ily. Stanley is quicker than Morris. But SVG's mistake is his arrogance. He'll keep the starting lineup the way it is because he trusts Ily at PF.

[Todd3]

I don't believe SJ is the type of rookie you need to make earn his starting spot. At least not in the sense that he is going to stop working as hard because he is gifted something. To me that is one of the main reason to bring a rookie along slowly - so they don't get a sense of entitlement - but I just don't see that as an issue with him.

When it comes down it we just need better ball movement in the starting lineup (and more scoring off the bench) and I think this move would improve both in one, and maybe not best for the individuals but best for the team right now.