The Detroit Pistons are in a bit of a rough patch after starting the season 5-2 as they have lost four straight games including Sunday night to the Los Angeles Lakers. Head coach Stan Van Gundy thinks that some of his guys are getting worn down because of the amount of minutes they are playing including Reggie Jackson and Marcus Morris. It would seem like Stanley Johnson would be in line for more time because of how worn down Morris is but Van Gundy does not think he is ready yet, according to Rod Beard of The Detroit News.
Morris and Johnson were in a competition for the starting small forward position in training camp, a competition which Morris won. Morris has started all ten games for Detroit and has played very well but he is averaging 37.8 minutes per game which is second in the league behind only James Harden. Johnson meanwhile has played in all ten games but is mostly playing shooting guard because Van Gundy reportedly doesn't think he is ready just yet to play small forward.
Morris has not only been starting but he is also playing small forward for the second unit where he is also the number one scoring option. Van Gundy thinks that he doesn't have many other options with Jodie Meeks and Brandon Jennings out right now but it is something he knows he has to keep an eye on.
"He's off to a great start, playing really, really well and getting more of an opportunity, maybe even too much of an opportunity minutes-wise and his minutes have really crept up. He's playing as many minutes as most people in the league and that's starting to take a little bit of a toll and we're going to have to watch that going forward," said Van Gundy.
The Pistons have been extremely high on Johnson since drafting him eighth overall in the most recent draft and he profiles as the typical small forward at 6 foot-7 but he hasn't played great to start his NBA career. Johnson is getting a little more than 20 minutes per game but he is shooting just 37 percent from the field and 20 percent from three while only carrying a 9.1 PER.
Johnson is just ten games into his career so it is not fair to expect him to be playing great already especially at just 19 years old. The Pistons have three guys averaging more than 37 minutes per game and they are already starting to get worn down just a few weeks into the season so whether he is ready or not it seems like Johnson needs to get some more playing time if the Pistons want to get back on the right track.
