Stanley Johnson impresses in debut
The Pistons suffered defeat in their first game at the Orlando Summer League, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t players on Detroit’s side that impressed.
Rookie Stanley Johnson was by far the Pistons best player on the floor and Adonis Thomas looked really good too.
It was a bit surprising to see Thomas get the start over Johnson, but Thomas is the more experienced player and proved himself worthy of the start with 17 points including 3-4 from behind the three point line.
Johnson checked into the game with 3:53 left in the first quarter. He swished a three seconds later for his first points as a pro.
He played extremely well in all facets of the game.
What I liked most about Johnson’s performance today was that he let the game come to him. If he had a wide open shot, he took it. If he had a lane to drive, he drove and either finished himself or made the pass when the defense rotated towards him. Every decision was right one and he only missed one spot up jump shot. He also did a good job drawing fouls– I counted six total drawn fouls, three of which lead to free throw opportunities.
On defense he had a nice breakaway steal where he jumped a pass to the wing and finished for an and-one over two defenders. He had a nice block from behind on Glen Rice Jr. too.
Johnson would finish with 13 points on 5/8 shots (2-5 from the charity strip), three assists, and four rebounds in 24 minutes. He was also the one of two players on the Pistons with a positive +- and the only one who was a double-digit positive at +10.
Spencer Dinwiddie had a rough game. He was able to get to the rim at will, but didn’t do a whole lot when he got there. That lead to most of his six turnovers. On the flip side, his aggressiveness lead to a team-high eight free throw attempts.
Moving forward Dinwiddie needs to find the right balance between pass and shoot when he drives the to the rim.
The Pistons second round pick Darrun Hilliard had a horrible game. After knocking down his first shot from downtown he went ice cold from the field, going just 1-9 from that point on. He also missed a lay up at point-blank range and had two shots blocked at the rim.
It’s a quick turnaround for Detroit who play the Clippers tomorrow at 1 p.m.
For the Pistons complete Summer League roster and schedule click on the hyperlinks.
Next: Watch:Stanley Johnson's hilghights against Orlando White