Detroit Pistons underwhelming in Summer League finale
The Detroit Pistons’ game started with disappointing news when the Heat announced that Justise Winslow wouldn’t be playing.
But there were still things to look forward to on the Pistons’ side of things, namely watching Stanley Johnson close out his exceptional Summer League play with another solid performance, and watching Darrun Hilliard and Spencer Dinwiddie build on their performances from Wednesday.
Unfortunately Johnson wasn’t his usual spectacular self that we’ve grown accustomed to seeing. He didn’t shoot the ball as well going 3/10 overall (1/3 from three) for 10 points, four rebounds, two assists and two turnovers. He didn’t take many bad shots, they simply just didn’t go in. He even missed a highlight real dunk dunk early in the fourth over an unsuspecting Heat defender.
At that point there were seven minutes left in the game and the Pistons were down 20. Without many reasons to continue playing, the Pistons went ahead and rested him for the game.
Overall the Pistons have to be ecstatic with what they’ve seen from Johnson in Orlando. After a sub par free agency where Detroit missed out on their top two free agents in DeMarre Carroll and Danny Green, there’s a good chance Johnson wins the starting small forward position by the time the regular season rolls around.
Among things that Johnson will need to work on to increase his chances of becoming a starter is his consistency on outside shots. The Pistons will work on his low release point over the summer to help in that area.
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Hilliard’s performance today left more to be desired. After back-to-back double figure games he went just 1/8 for seven points.
Dinwiddie shot the ball well for the second straight game going 2/3 (1/2 from distance) and 6/6 from the free throw line. Though Dinwiddie has improved over the course of the Orlando Summer League, his game wasn’t without fault today. He still turned the ball over more than you’d like to see with four turnovers for the game.
The Pistons will get an extended look at Adonis Thomas in training camp, but I don’t think he played well enough to garner serious consideration to make the Pistons final 15-man roster, which figures to be pretty well established with two or three variables. Thomas started Summer League strong with a nice shooting 17 point performance, but the ball frequently stopped in hands throughout League-play. I really would have liked to see him show more play-making ability.
Unlike most NBA teams, Summer League ends in Orlando for the Pistons.
Next: Where the Detroit Pistons roster stands