Detroit Pistons: Expectations For Johnson's Rookie Year

Stanley Johnson was a top recruit coming out of high school and proved to be an impact player in college for the Arizona Wildcats.

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As a 6-foot-7 and 242-pound forward, Johnson has the prototypical size of an NBA wing, enough for him to be a bully on both offense and defense.

He may not be the most skilled player in terms of the number of different things he can do on the court quite yet, but he does a few things well, and when you put that together with his physical attributes it makes for one exciting two-way package.

Here’s a look at what you can expect from Johnson in his rookie season with the Detroit Pistons.

Offense

Johnson’s offensive game starts with his knack for driving to the rim. He’s a physical player who doesn’t shy away from any contact. In fact, he plays like he wants to get in a fight with the other team.

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Finishing through multiple defenders isn’t a problem for him either, as seen in the clip above. Johnson plays like he’s the strongest player on the floor, a trait shared by other bigger wing players like LeBron James and Jimmy Butler.

This isn’t to say Johnson is as good as those players, but he plays with a similar mindset when he attacks the rim. Having a player who isn’t afraid of flexing his muscles and getting a little rough with the other team is a valuable asset to have, especially when the game breaks down and you need a player who can drive and create a scoring opportunity in the halfcourt.

Where Johnson really showed some promise in the Orlando Summer League was with his playmaking and shooting.

Multiple times Johnson found teammates off of his drives to the basket and set them up for easy scoring opportunities both off of jump shots and cuts to the rim.

The better Johnson gets at recognizing his teammates and moving the basketball the more fluid the offense will be for the Pistons, something the team has struggled with over these past few seasons along with outside shooting.

Even though Johnson has never been a knockdown shooter before in his career, that may have changed, as he looked very comfortable pulling up off-the-dribble on outside shots.

Johnson shot 41.7 percent from behind the three-point line and 57.7 percent from the field overall. Even though it is in the summer against weaker competition, those are still great numbers for someone going up against talent that is still NBA-caliber.

Whether those numbers were a flash-in-the-pan off of a small sample size or not, it seems that Johnson has at least put a lot of work into improving his jump shot, which would go a long way in him securing a starting job in Detroit.

If Johnson can begin to shoot from outside with consistency and stretch the floor for the Pistons, then that team could potentially become a contender to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, it’s that simple. They have a lot of the right weapons at their other positions, but they haven’t had a quality small forward in years. Johnson has the potential to be that and much more for an offensively-challenged team.

Defense

Defense has been Johnson’s calling card more than his offensive game because of his physical style of play. He’s going to get up on his defender and not back down no matter who it is, and that’s the kind of attitude the Pistons need on defense to take things to the next level.

In terms of one-on-one defense, there may not be a better player in this draft class. At this point in time, only Justise Winslow could challenge Johnson, but he’s not as aggressive as the Detroit forward.

Johnson wants to make life difficult for his opposing man, meaning he’s going to play the passing lanes and challenge as many shots as he can. He’s going to steal the ball and get blocks. He’s not afraid to foul either if he has to because he’s intelligent enough on that end of the floor to avoid trouble through the duration of the game.

He has all the talent to be a premier defender in the NBA, which isn’t easy considering the skill level of a lot of today’s players. Defense is where he’s going to first make his mark, which should get him inserted into the starting lineup over Marcus Morris.

Conclusion

Johnson may not put up the flashiest numbers in his debut season, but make no mistake he’s going to be solid. I liked him a lot in college because I saw the attitude he played with and weighed that more than his shortcomings, which can all be fixed. His jump shot and handle aren’t broken.

Sure, there’s times when he makes the wrong decision and forces a drive or two, but every rookie makes mistakes like that. Johnson is a talented all-around basketball player on both ends of the floor, something that can’t be said for a decent number of guys in the NBA.

He has a lot of room to grow, but he will put on some great performances in his rookie season.

Predicted 2015-16 Stat Line: 14.6 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 2.2 AST, 48 FG%, 36 3P%, 1.0 STL, 0.7 BLK

Next: Grading The Pistons' Offseason

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Expectations For Stanley Johnson’s Rookie Season

By Nathan Grubel | Aug 31, 2015

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