Pistons mailbag: Harris, Johnson fit as starters
With more than a month until the NBA season kicks back into full gear, the summer malaise is in full effect. Things have been mostly quiet since the flurry of free agency moves and the Pistons made their own significant change, in getting Avery Bradley from the Boston Celtics for Marcus Morris.
It would seem that the Pistons are poised to open next season with their current roster — that is, unless an appealing offer comes along. Short of that happening, they appear to be in position to make the playoffs in the East, provided they can get back some of the mojo from Reggie Jackson’s return to form, following a full offseason to deal with knee tendinitis.
The latest Pistons Mailbag addresses some of the issues around the roster and tweaks that they can make to account for the void left by Morris’ departure and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope going to the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent.
■ Question: If you’re Van Gundy, are you starting Stanley-Tobias, or Tobias-Leuer? And why? —@ColbyCarnes2
■ Answer: I’d start Johnson and Tobias Harris, simply because it seems to be a stronger lineup. In too many games last season, the Pistons fell into an early hole and had to climb out. Leuer’s dropoff in production in the second half of last season is another big concern. Leuer played the most minutes of his career — and it showed as his stats dipped after the All-Star break. If he’s coming off the bench again this year, Leuer would be matched better against other reserves, where he might have an advantage, rather than struggling against starters.
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Harris started quite a bit last year and though he might have trouble guarding bigger power forwards, he could make up for it on the offensive end. With Bradley and Johnson on the court at the same time, the Pistons would have their best perimeter defensive unit and Johnson would get a chance to grow into a bigger role with more playing time.
It’s not clear how much Johnson will pick up his offensive numbers, but having Harris there to balance it takes away some of that risk.
■ Q: How big of an impact do you think Luke Kennard will have on the Pistons his rookie year? How many minutes do you think he’ll be averaging as well? — @stevencwoodcock
■ A: Conventional wisdom says that Kennard, the Pistons’ first-round pick, won’t have a huge role, given the way that coach Stan Van Gundy traditionally lets rookies break in and get comfortable before handing them heavy minutes.
Kennard shot well at summer league, but he’ll have to prove it during the regular season to increase his playing time. With Bradley and Langston Galloway ahead on the depth chart, don’t expect huge minutes from Kennard — or even consistent minutes initially — but he could play his way into a decent amount.
What’s clear is that he’ll have to shoot the 3 well to earn his playing time. If he’s not contributing there, Van Gundy can get contributions from more veteran players in that spot.
■ Q: Starting to get sense that Reggie Jackson returning to full strength is a pipe dream. Am I reading too much into it or are we hanging hope on an unlikelihood? — @AngerHeSmiles
■ A: Most of the Pistons’ outlook next season is built around Jackson returning somewhere close to his 2016 form. Without him in the offense, the production dropped from several other players and the Pistons regressed to 37 wins.
It’s no secret that Jackson is the catalyst for the Pistons’ success and his health is a big question mark. They’ve catered a rehab regimen this summer to give his knees a lot less stress and to strengthen the muscles around the knees to help with the pain. All reports indicate that things are going well, but we won’t know a lot more until training camp.
■ Q: While we’re expecting big things with addition of Bradley, what happens if we regress again this year? Do we blow it up? Is SVG gone? — @D_Schandy24
■ A: The Pistons’ long-term future seems to be dependent on Bradley staying on for more than just this year. If not, the Pistons will have passed on Caldwell-Pope and traded Morris for a one-year rental of Bradley. In itself, that’s not a horrible thing, but it would be tough to bounce back from, from a perception standpoint. Well, at least they wouldn’t have committed to Caldwell-Pope for the long term.
It would give the Pistons a chance to assess Kennard and see whether he can earn that playing time, so it’s not a complete loss.
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