The Detroit Pistons Summer League came to a close on Friday as they lost 87-84 in the championship game to the Orlando Magic (White). The Pistons finished Summer League with a 4-1 record. Lets take a look at a few notable players and how they performed.
Stanley Johnson: The second year summer leaguer was instructed to play to his weaknesses by coach Stan Van Gundy in order to improve and to get more comfortable with his reworked shooting form. He still managed to average 16 points and 7.4 rebounds on 36 percent shooting from the field and 27 percent from three. He was also hit all 18 of his free throws. Overall, Johnson may not be efficient but offensively he showed improvement and played well considering the restrictions placed on him by Van Gundy.
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Henry Ellenson: The 19-year-old Pistons first round pick had a solid showing in his first NBA action. He averaged 12.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Ellenson shot a poor 31 percent from the field and 23 percent from three but showed some flashes of his ability to handle the ball and score off the dribble for a man of his size. He will probably be out of the rotation to start the season as Stan Van Gundy has said he wants to bring him along slowly to help his development but he has some intriguing potential.
Lorenzo Brown: The 25-year-old point guard knew going into summer league that a strong showing could earn him one of the final spots on the Pistons roster. Brown ended up being arguably the Pistons best player in Orlando as he scored 14.2 points per game on an efficient 53 percent shooting from the field and 38 percent from three. Brown also added 3.4 rebounds and 3.6 steals per game. His great performance would lead to believe that he has probably earned a roster spot on the Pistons as the third point guard though no official word from Stan Van Gundy yet.
Darrun Hilliard and Michael Gbinije: Hilliard was set to show off his improved game after a great offseason of improving his body and skills before a lower back injury occurred a few days before summer league began. He was held out of summer league and is still recovering from the injury though it doesn’t appear to be serious.
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Gbinije played in the first summer league game before injuring his ankle and sitting out the remaining summer league games. It was initially ruled a sprained ankle but upon further testing, it was determined he had a mild foot sprain and a bone chip from a previous injury.