Pistons' Stanley Johnson tries point guard - and excels
Rookie pushed to point guard role in practice due to injuries; don't expect him to play there much
Injuries at point guard have forced the Detroit Pistons to go off script for two straight days.
The misfortune forced Stanley Johnson to dust off his point guard skills from his high school days.
And the end result was the same as the first two days— Johnson excelled.
On a day when Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said the team didn't practice very well, he said: "Stanley was really good today — really good. Even at the point. He played well."
Don't expect to see Johnson at the point that much — injuries to Reggie Jackson (thigh contusion) and Steve Blake (concussion) don't appear to be serious.
But it's just another example of Johnson displaying the all-around game that attracted the Pistons in the June NBA draft.
And Johnson, 19, he expects to play well despite his youth.
"I think I'm pretty good at basketball and that doesn't matter if you're 19, 22 or 27," Johnson said. "I think I can play."
Van Gundy will use the 6-foot-7 Johnson in pick-and-roll situations and envisions him becoming a guy who can consistently run offense.
"I'm not a (point guard) so I don't want to play it, but do I want to have the ball in my hands? Do I want to get into high ball screens? Do I want to make plays with the ball in my hands? Yes," Johnson said.
He added: "That was definitely something (Van Gundy) said he'd let me do — as long as I don't turn the ball over, which makes total sense. If I'm turning the ball over I don't need the ball in my hands. I'll either be on the bench or in the corner."
Injury woes: The Pistons are calling Jackson and center Aron Baynes (ankle) day-to-day and it's probably a safe bet they won't play in Saturday's public scrimmage at the Palace.
Jackson suffered his injury when he ran into a stanchion. Baynes went down when his surgically repaired right ankle came down on Joel Anthony's foot.
Blake didn't attend practice today and is undergoing the NBA's concussion protocols.
"He got hit the other day and came down and hit his head on the floor," Van Gundy said. "He came in yesterday and just didn't feel right. The doctor came last night and we kept an eye on him. We didn't have him come in today."
Contact Vince Ellis: vellis@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @vincent_ellis56.