Pistons Links: Ish Smith is really high on Pistons' depth and Stan Van Gundy is high on just about every Pistons player so far in training camp

6 practices in, SVG likes 'way we're approaching this' -- MLive

SCRIMMAGE NO. 2: Detroit played a full 48-minute scrimmage on Friday, and the story after was tired legs. Starters played anywhere from 27 to 36 minutes depending on the player, and that after two practices on Thursday. "To come into here and play that many minutes, yeah, it was a conditioning challenge," Van Gundy said. Players return to the Pistons' practice facility Saturday morning for a lighter workout before returning for an evening workout to conclude the first week of training camp.

Not taking it as concerning just yet, but it's worth mentioning that Marcus Morris has sat out practice two days in a row with lingering finger pain.

Marjanovic already fitting in well with Pistons -- Detroit News

Boban Marjanovic apparently made Stan Van Gundy "glow" recently, according to Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Rod probably isn't fibbing about that SVG radiance.

"He's unstoppable down low; I don't think anybody has an answer to that. He'll be even better when we just get into playing," Van Gundy glowed.

...

"Once he gets established in the half-court, there's not a good way to play him. He's so big and so skilled that it's hard."

From everything we've read/heard on Boban, the following isn't at all surprising (but still good to reaffirm):

Apart from his work on the court, Marjanovic is lauded by other players for just being easygoing and a good teammate. That's not lost on Van Gundy, who is seeing the value of the good chemistry on and off the court.

"Everybody loves him; across the board, everybody likes the guy," Van Gundy said. "He's a good guy, a team guy, a hard worker. He's not an entitled type of guy."

More good news as Tobias Harris is taking care of defensive drills so far

Via the Free Press:

The improvement shows in one-on-one defensive drills where the only way to score is getting stops.

"He's won more than anybody and that's in a group against Marcus (Morris) and Stanley (Johnson) and Henry (Ellenson) and Jon (Leuer)," Van Gundy said. "Good players, but every day he's getting wins and taking great pride in it. Yeah, really happy with him."

It's all part of the plan for the Pistons to improve on their 13th-ranked defensive rating. Van Gundy said the team needs to be a top-10 defense if it's to launch a significant challenge in the Eastern Conference.

Ish Smith is not holding back, and you got to give him props for it

SVG is talking about a possible 10-man rotation -- and it seems doable, even needed, as there is a lot more depth in Detroit than usual.

Pistons backup point guard, Ish Smith, isn't shy either, to put it lightly. Ish, one could say, is exceptionally gung-ho about Detroit's current depth. Ish Smith and hold back just don't go together, I guess.

"We're loaded, man. If you really think about it, we could really go 14-, 15-deep, if Coach wanted to. We got guys who have a lot of experience in this league," Smith said. "I'm not trying to use Golden State's thing of strength in numbers, but Coach could use anybody, call on anybody.

"I think it's exciting for camp. Camp is going to be really competitive, and I think it's going to be good for us, because we know we got to play our best to stay out there or the next guy's up. We have that much talent."

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