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Stanley Johnson displays some postgame work ethic

By Duncan Smith

Feb 4, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Monta Ellis (11) and Detroit Pistons forward Stanley Johnson (7) scramble for a loose ball at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana defeats Detroit 105-84. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 4, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Monta Ellis (11) and Detroit Pistons forward Stanley Johnson (7) scramble for a loose ball at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana defeats Detroit 105-84. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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After a strong performance for the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Lakers, Stanley Johnson wasn’t quite ready to call it quits.

Stanley Johnson has had a struggle of a sophomore season with the Detroit Pistons. After high expectations from a summer full of work and development, he got off to a rough start to the 2016-17 season. Johnson didn’t get much action in the preseason thanks to foot pain and an issue with his shoes, and things went downhill from there.

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By the middle of December, Johnson had all but lost his reserve wing spot in the rotation to Darrun Hilliard. There were rumblings of issues with Stanley Johnson’s work ethic, and he was suspended for a home game against the Los Angeles Clippers for an undisclosed violation of team rules. As we know now, Hilliard wasn’t able to capitalize and Johnson got his spot back as a result.

While it hasn’t been an easy road, Johnson has made it count. Since the Pistons’ West Coast road trip, his minutes have taken a significant bump upwards. He’s averaging 22 minutes per game over the last 15, and his net rating over that stretch is a healthy +2.2. Over the past 11 games, he actually leads the Pistons in net rating with +13.5.

He still struggles with his shot on offense at times, but he’s an aggressive hawk on defense with a nose for the ball and his effort is unquestionable.

After a standout 17 minutes on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Lakers, Johnson wasn’t ready to call it a night and made the short trip to the Pistons practice facility to get some shots up.

All signs point to the 20 year old Stanley Johnson putting it together, and he’s been showing development and improvement on a nearly game-by-game basis.  Don’t give up on the sophomore just yet.

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