Stanley Johnson or Jon Leuer

[King Bugs]

This will be one of the biggest stories of training camp.

Now, I've been on this board long enough to know that Piston fans like to be grounded, logical, try to get inside SVG's head & overanalyze every damn thing, but I don't care about any of that (not like it'll stop many of you anyway ). I want to know who YOU want to start and why?

Time to pick a horse for this race guys!

[MotownMadness]

Johnson, I would be trying to see exactly what I have in him and what he will be in this league before he's in that final year of his deal.

Honestly with the way Harris can produce on or off the bench I would consider making him 6th man where he comes in quick for Leuer and then just slides over to the 3 for Johnson so we can then give Ellenson some burn.

[DETermination]

I really like the idea of Stanley starting next to Avery, the defense could be really good.

[King Bugs]

Honestly with the way Harris can produce on or off the bench I would consider making him 6th man where he comes in quick for Leuer and then just slides over to the 3 for Johnson so we can then give Ellenson some burn.

Ooooh, that's an interesting scenario. I actually like that quite a bit, we wouldn't have to worry about bench scoring. I hope that option is on the table SVG.

Outside of that, as much as I want Stanley to take the starting job and run away with it. I still feel that if we play "1 in 4 out" or "Van Gundy-ball" he may still flounder because that offense is not a fit for him. I wish we would prioritize putting him a position to succeed.

On the logical side (*groan*)... I know Leuer starting makes a lot of sense and he has an advantage in a lot of areas, veteran, pick and pop big man, spreads the floor, etc.

[MotownMadness]

I really like the idea of Stanley starting next to Avery, the defense could be really good.

By the numbers we were a top 5 defense whenever Johnson was on the court.

[A_dub06]

Johnson and it's not even close.

In Leuer we have a guy that couldn't handle starters minutes and put up absolutely putrid numbers when he started, especially in the second half of the season. He's not going to improve, and I don't consider him even a remote possibility of having a role in the teams future. Sure, he may improve his conditioning a little, but his play wasn't anything special when he was living up to his contract.

Johnson at least appears to provide a defensive presence, and I would really like us to play RJ, AB, Johnson, Harris, Drummond as our starting 5. As long as RJ is back to 90% of himself I think the lineup has enough offensive and defensive firepower to push for the 7th - 8th seed (even though we should rebuild). Unlike Leuer, Johnson could be a part of our teams future and we need to see what we have in him without him getting pulled for making a single mistake. Rant over lol


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[Pharaoh]

I echo the idea of Tobias coming off the bench with Ish.

Dre, Jon & SJ start...Harris can enter the game for any one of them.

Jon needs to average 24 minutes or less though, unless his conditioning has improved drastically. He simply couldn't handle the run last season.

Dre 33 - Bobo 15
Jon 24 - Harris 10 - Tolliver 14
SJ 26 - Harris 22
AB 30 - Kennard 18
RJ 24 - Ish 24

Yeah yeah yeah teams don't run 10 but whatever.

On the nights Bobo simply isn't a option you thrown Henry out there for those minutes.

[Blkbrd671]

i think our rotations are going to be drastically different with Leur playing more 5 , SJ minutes really shouldn't be hampered this season unless he continues to struggle.

[detroitKG]

I fully expect the starting 5 to be Reggie(if ready), Avery, SJ, Tobias, and Dre..
Jon is a rotation player that was asked to start, so not shocking that he wore down in the 2nd half last year..
He'll thrive off the bench again because he'll have his legs.

[potatoaim]

SJ should start. I like the idea of him and AB together defensively. We all know Drummond and Harris arent good defenders, and RJ couldnt guard Long Jon Silver, so we need at least two guys that can guard at a high level.

[mattao313]

Whichever is better Stanley was terrible last season for all the flack Leuer gets he was still a productive player and much better than SJ. Stanley really has to show me he is a NBA player before I wish for him to start.

[dVs33]

I'm thinking Johnson and leuer both start and bring Harris off the bench because he can play with both.
But for the sake of he game, I'll go with Johnson. As a starter he would get more opportunity and freedom to play his way into games and make mistakes. Off the bench there's pressure to have an immediate impact

[Billl]

I don't think Leuer is a starter on a contender, so I'd rather see what we have in SJ.

I can see why some people like Harris off the bench, but I think you have to go 'best 5" in a rebuilding process. If the "best 5" doesn't mesh, then we need to make some moves to change that. The goal is to get a core group that can grow together, not just squeeze every victory we can out of a flawed group.

[Manocad]

This is one I struggle with, specifically to Tobias. I like the idea of him starting because I think he'd be part of the best lineup the Pistons could put on the floor, but I also like the idea of him being the uber-sixth man off the bench.

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[hoophabit]

Have to hope it's SJ. Best thing for the Pistons if he can step up and play the 3, but this is the stuff that sorts itself out. Harris is a proven pro and will do what coach thinks is best for the team. Much respect to Tobias.

[Alexander]

Johnson/Leuer+Harris>Johnson/Harris +Leuer>Harris/Leuer+Johnson, but the margins are slim. All that I hope for is Johnson getting a boost in minutes, primarily at the 3, and the team taking advantage of Tobias' offensive versatility.

[Arp590]

Avery & Stanley at the 2/3 is very strong defensively.
Enough scoring in the starting lineup to make up for his lack of offense, he'll be the 5th option on the floor if Tobias is starting.

[Pharaoh]

Assuming SVG keeps bringing Tobias & Ish off the bench to give us some spark:

A starting unit of RJ, AB, SJ, Jon & Dre is once again going to be based around the RJ & Dre PnR.

I have a massive problem with that!

With that unit teams will double off SJ or Jon and dare them to shoot from deep...

Given Reggie's knee issues and the fact SJ & AB can also initiate the offense I believe we'd be better served moving RJ off the ball more...kinda what he used to do for OKC.

He can still run PnRs as required but moving him off ball part time allows him to pick his spots more.

Who would you prefer taking those shots from long range - SJ or RJ?

Put the ball in Johnson's hands in a PnR and yeah, teams will go under but he can turn the corner and accelerate too - without worrying about the strain on his knee.

I honestly think splitting the playmaking responsibilities between RJ & SJ would not only benefit them both but also the entire starting unit

[ElectricMayhem]

My vote just made it 20-0! I didn't expect it to be THIS one-sided, especially with everyone commenting that they are conflicted.

[Snakebites]

Johnson, at least to start. I suspect he won't though.

We're rebuilding here. He should get a last best chance to prove himself. He's also a better fit in theory. Tobias with Leuer is awful defensively.

SVG is going to feel pressure to win games though. So I doubt that's what we'll get, as Stanley has shown little sign of being ready.