Stan Van Gundy isn’t ready to sign off on his opening night starting lineup and hand it in just yet. But unless he sees something in the final two preseason games to change his mind, Marcus Morris and Ersan Ilyasova will occupy the two starting forward berths and Stanley Johnson will come off the Pistons bench.
“That’s who I would start if it started today,” Van Gundy said after this morning’s shootaround before tonight’s game with Charlotte at The Palace. “I just think that’s our best lineup right now. It gives us a little more size, a little more experience. That’s where my comfort level is right now.”
Among the other factors, Van Gundy said, were Johnson’s fit with a second unit, where his ability to put the ball on the floor, attack the basket and make plays off the dribble meshes well; and the fact that Johnson is a rookie going against two veterans.
But who’ll finish games is another matter. And Johnson is probably going to wind up with as many chances as Morris or Ilyasova.
“I don’t think you’ll see much difference in the minutes with Stanley and Marcus and Ersan,” Van Gundy said. “From night to night, it may be different based on who we’re playing against. But my guess would be that you won’t see a lot of differences in their total minutes.”
One factor that could force a change down the road: Morris’ tendency through the preseason to pick up fouls in bunches.
“That’s a concern,” Van Gundy said. “He’s an aggressive guy. His technique probably has to be a little bit better so that he’s not picking up cheap fouls and spending time on the bench.”
Partly due to foul trouble, Morris has averaged the fewest minutes of the trio, 23 to Ilyasova’s 26 and Johnson’s 28.
Otherwise, Van Gundy has been impressed with Morris, acquired in a July trade with Phoenix.
“He’s still, I don’t think, fully comfortable when we move him to the four spot. I think he’s more comfortable right now at the three,” Van Gundy said. “So it’ll take some time. But I think he’s been good. A valuable thing in this league is a guy who can get a shot whenever he wants and shoot it at a pretty high percentage.”
Van Gundy said Steve Blake is on course to practice on Thursday and make his preseason debut in the finale on Friday. Blake has been out since suffering a concussion in a Sept. 30 practice.
