Stan Van Gundy isn’t worry free because no coach ever is. And especially not on the fourth day of training camp. But six practices into it, there are no storm clouds on his horizon, either.

“Big picture is that I like the way our approach is. Guys are working extremely hard, really trying to execute, trying to do the right things,” he said after Friday’s practice that ran more than three hours and included a full 48-minute scrimmage. “I’ve been really, really happy with our approach. This is a good team to coach right now.”

Among other reasons to be relatively cheery is his injury report, which essentially consists of Marcus Morris with a right ring finger injury, essentially a sprain, that is limiting his participation.

“We’re remarkably pretty healthy here for six practices and four of ’em long, hard, a lot of contact. Knock on wood, very good.”

With the bolstering Van Gundy and general manager Jeff Bower have done to the roster around Andre Drummond, the drafting of two rookies the organization believes have long NBA careers in front of them and the maturation of one of the league’s youngest starting units and cores, it doesn’t surprise anyone that the tenor of practices has been spirited.

Everybody’s fighting for minutes. It’s a little early in camp to be grouping players by first and second unit, but the guys who figure to comprise the heart of Van Gundy’s bench – free agents Ish Smith and Jon Leuer, holdovers Aron Baynes and Stanley Johnson, and players like Reggie Bullock and Darrun Hilliard hoping to get a foothold on a fixed role – are all battling hard to secure minutes.

“We’ve even got guys behind them,” Van Gundy said. “There’s really no easy matchups. And Andre’s playing against two really good players all the time (in Baynes and Boban Marjanvoic, about whom Van Gundy had several good things to say; check back Saturday for more on him.) Tobias (Harris), Jon Leuer, Henry (Ellenson), Marcus – they’ve got good matchups. It’s tough. That’s good. I think it makes it more competitive out here and everybody’s pushing everybody.”

Van Gundy said going into the offseason – before drafting Ellenson and Michael Gbinije and before signing Smith, Leuer and Marjanovic in free agency – that he expected the greatest growth for the Pistons to come through improvement of the players already on the roster. Over four days, he’s confident they’re well along that path.

“Some guys have improved some skills and it’ll help us,” he said. “And I also just think we’re right now a more focused group defensively with those key guys that have come back. There’s still some things I don’t like. I don’t think we’re doing a good job closing to shooters, contesting shots. Today we fouled too much. But there is a mindset I see of making an effort to defend. That’ll help us a great deal and indicates that we should keep improving.”