To understand the delicate dance an NBA coach must perform, consider the cases of Stanley Johnson and Jon Leuer.

Johnson came to the Pistons a lottery pick at 19 with three gold medals from USA Basketball and expectations of stardom. Leuer arrived in the NBA as a second-round pick after four years of steady progression at Wisconsin and came to Detroit, his fifth NBA stop in six seasons, as a free agent.

Nowhere are expectations for Johnson’s destiny grander than in Johnson’s own estimation. He embraced his playoff matchup with LeBron James in part on the premise that it would hasten his ascension to the status of world’s best player by taking on the current titleholder.

Johnson’s rush to greatness has put Van Gundy in the position of having to tap the brakes for him. While pushing back against Johnson, meanwhile, he’s trying to pull Leuer into viewing himself in a different light.

“Jon’s a really good player. Jon’s even a better player than Jon thinks he is and you don’t say that about very many professional athletes,” Van Gundy said after Leuer had a season-high 15 points to go with three rebounds, three assists, a steal and a blocked shot in Saturday’s 103-86 trouncing of Denver. “We’re trying to encourage Jon to be more aggressive looking for his shot.”

Leuer’s been a consistent contributor through the season’s first six games, earning Van Gundy’s trust so thoroughly that he’s playing a role nearly as prominent as starting forwards Tobias Harris and Marcus Morris, averaging 26 minutes a game.

His Saturday production was to be expected. Johnson’s contributions to the win provided the night’s real encouragement for the Pistons. He’d scored a total of six points while making 2 of 16 shots before knocking down 5 of 7 and scoring 12 points against the Nuggets.

“It was great to see Stanley get something to go,” Morris said. “It was great to see it. I just tell him to keep his confidence and keep playing, because we’re going to need him. If we’re going to be that good of a team, that great team that we’re trying to be, we’re going to need him to play well. I expect that from Jon, but it was great to see Stanley step out of that little slump.”

Leuer’s steadiness – just as Van Gundy expected when he signed him to a reported four-year, $41 million deal that raised eyebrows elsewhere – and Johnson’s emergence bode well for a bench unit that will get another jolt when Reggie Jackson returns to allow Ish Smith to settle into his role as that group’s leader along with Aron Baynes at center.

“If we can put in our regular numbers nightly – Jon has, I haven’t – we can be really good,” Johnson said. “I’ve been slacking for four games. We pick each other up. We’re very versatile. This is what great teams do.”

Van Gundy saw Johnson as too eager to prove the results of his summer’s hard work when training camp opened, forcing plays that led to turnovers or bad shots. He cited for Johnson the example of Chicago’s Jimmy Butler, entrusted with nothing more than defending and rebounding his first few seasons before blossoming into stardom. Johnson took it to heart, but seemed to lose his equilibrium in playing against his instincts.

Van Gundy saw a different focus in Johnson late last week, during an off-day workout on Thursday and in Friday’s practice, and it carried over into Saturday’s game. Johnson missed his first shot – a corner triple by the Pistons bench – but it looked pure coming off of his hand and felt right to Johnson.

“The last game I stepped into a couple and that’s the first time I really stepped into a shot,” he said. “I thought that was in. I thought every one was going in tonight.”

Leuer, who’ll play alongside Johnson plenty this season, expected a breakout game, too.

“He’s such a talented player. I knew it was only a matter of time for him,” he said. “He was able to get some shots to fall tonight. He can be a big lift for us off the bench.”

Leuer’s already provided that. And with Van Gundy’s prodding, the Pistons could get even more from him. Though at 27 he’s one of the older players on their roster, Van Gundy thinks Leuer came to the Pistons at the right time of his career, ready to fully realize a diverse skill set. Leuer flashed that in the way he scored against Denver – in the post, from the 3-point line, in transition and with a power dunk after corralling an offensive rebound in traffic.

Leuer, validated by the Pistons’ pursuit of him in free agency and further encouraged by the stability of his role, also expects to keep pushing forward.

“I try to improve every year and try to work on my game every summer,” he said. “It’s just a matter of continuing to get repetition in this system and feeling more and more comfortable every day. I’m just going to try to keep getting better. To be in this role is a great opportunity. I feel like I’m just trying to take advantage of it and do whatever I can to help this team.”

After Johnson’s welcome-to-the-season outing Saturday, it looks like he’s going to have a worthy partner in bolstering a bench unit critical to chasing some pretty lofty Pistons goals.