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Pistons come up short as Johnson, Winslow write another chapter in their common story

ORLANDO – The guys two and three times their age asking Stanley Johnson and Justise Winslow about their Summer League, ahem, “showdown” should have the sense of teenagers – or, at least, these two particular teenagers.

Winslow’s Heat beat Johnson’s Pistons 78-73 on Monday and maybe someday that will be a footnote to their fairly remarkable parallel stories. But probably not. If their careers are headed where they appear to be going, no one’s going to much care about a Summer League first meeting between players who at various times have been teammates and rivals since they were elementary schoolers.

“It was not important,” Johnson said of the individual matchup – and, yes, they guarded each other almost exclusively while they shared the court – for the umpteenth time since they were drafted two spots apart less than two weeks ago. “He’s another good player on the court. Me and him are friends. We’ve played against each other since we were in third grade, so this is nothing new to us.”

They were used in dramatically different fashions, which color their numbers: 14 points on 4 of 5 shooting for Johnson to go with seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, a blocked shot and two turnovers; 17 points on 5 of 15 shooting plus four rebounds, one assist, zero steals, zero blocks and one turnover for Winslow.

While Winslow was Miami’s de facto point guard, initiating the offense and utilized in pick and roll extensively for most of his 34 minutes, Johnson played exclusively at small forward for his 29 minutes and was double teamed aggressively to get the ball out of his hands every time the Pistons ran side pick and rolls for him or tried to isolate him on the wing.

“They did a great job of giving me different looks,” said Johnson, who hit a deep 2-point jump shot and a triple in the first three possessions of the second half and never attempted another shot. “They went to the double. What happens on the double team is I don’t get a shot off, but I can make some hockey assists to great shots. I thought we got some great shots out of the double team. We knocked a few of ’em in. We were just one shot short.”

Johnson got hit with four early fouls, most while trying to scramble back on to Winslow after getting screened. But he finished by picking up only one more and showed further evidence of his basketball IQ in adjusting on the fly.

“I put it on myself,” he said. “I didn’t do a good job of getting into him. He’s a good player – he’s a great player. He ran me into screens and he got one on one with players we didn’t want guarding him and he got to the rim. That’s a good job by him. … He played well. He impacted the game for the team just being on the court, kind of like the way I do when I’m on the court. He did a great job. They won the game. That’s all that matters.”

Winslow and Johnson went to dinner Saturday night and had tentative plans to see a movie together. Except Winslow went ahead and saw it first without Johnson, he said, a sheepish grin creasing his face.

“It’s all competitive between the lines, but we go back to the hotel, we’re going to play FIFA – and that’s going to be competitive,” Winslow said. “He’s just a competitive guy and I like that. I like getting that feeling from somebody, surrounding myself with people that are really pushing themselves. When we’re out there on the court, it’s about getting better.

“He can do everything. You saw tonight – you saw the threes, the mid-range, the floaters. He had a very efficient night, unlike me. You’ve got to tip your hat to him. He played very well, but ultimately it’s about winning and I’m just glad we got the win and I could contribute to that.”

Winslow and Johnson were linked by their common histories as elite age-group players and USA Basketball teammates in addition to their physical similarities. But draft night sealed it. The Pistons took Johnson over Winslow, who in going to an Eastern Conference rival made certain the comparison will have a prolonged shelf life.

To the extent they’ll participate in the hype, it will only be to their mutual benefit, Winslow said.

“For me and him, it’s about making each other better. When we do that, the game is just fun.”

  • The Pistons picked up just one point in the eight-point scoring system used to determine final standings in Orlando – four points for winning the game and one for each quarter. Adonis Thomas hit a triple at the buzzer ruled a basket on the floor – and one that would have given the Pistons the fourth-quarter win – but it was overturned on review.
  • Summer League is tough on point guards given the frenetic full-court defense many teams employ, the waves of hungry free agents eager to catch somebody’s eye dogging them and the lack of chemistry among teammates who get thrown together for a few days of practice. But Spencer Dinwiddie had a better day on Monday, finishing with 11 points, four assists and just one turnover in 22 minutes.
  • Second-rounder Darrun Hilliard had his best showing with 12 points, hitting 2 of 4 triples. His first two jump shots were taken with his right hand. Hilliard is a natural right-hander, he said – he claims he can throw a football 65 yards with his right arm – but was taught to shoot left-handed by his father.

    “Sometimes I get confused myself,” he smiled.

  • The Pistons are off on Tuesday. They’ll play Indiana and lottery pick Myles Turner at 3 p.m. Wednesday.