Note, Daye started at small forward, and I believe played all his minutes there. Tay took the night off - as did Ben Wallace
We looked (sounded) great to start the game, then struggled the rest of the way. I see this inconsistency becoming a theme this year. We will play some outstanding quarters, but struggle to put together good games.
It was date night at the movies with the wife, so I missed "listening" to this game which looked like after reading all of your recaps was lost in the second quarter when the so called vets came in. in looking at the box score looks like the team shot poorly and once again got spanked in the paint 42-24.... This team is going no where if they can't even up the disparity there and log more assists than turnovers.
I see KGREG is bashing Joggin' Rodney again and not pointing out that he had 1 rebound and 0 assists in his 11 minutes of action. That would be a 4 board 0 assist night if he played 44 minutes HATER!!!
Stuckey was playing with a banged up knee - sounds like he couldn't move well out there. Monroe is going to be a center, and his ceiling is very high. However, it's going to take him a couple years to build his strength up to the level he'll need to hold his position and bang with the big boys. I don't buy this "non-athletic" label. The NBA game will slow way down for him as he adapts to the pace of the league.
Yeah I expect to see HUGE games from Vern, Ike and Wilcox, T-mac is rumored to actually participate in the layup line.
I expect that Monroe will, as the NBA season goes along, have the game slow down for him. When that happens for any athlete they move more quickly and effortlessly because their decision making is more in sync with the game. Guys who are thinking on the court are slower than they are when they are just playing naturally. I've seen a little bit of the games on TV this summer and one during the exhibition season. Right now, I think we're seeing Monroe at the very early stage of his career being a bit slow to react and making mistakes he won't make as he acclimates. I expect, ultimately, to see a guy who post-toe surgery will be a better athlete than I saw this summer. Regardless, I expect to see a highly skilled player become a top-flight guy at his C position over the next few seasons.
He is what he is, and he's slow with no hops. Now, for his credit you don't need to be the quickest fastest guy in the world to be a center. But he has a very slow release and plays below the rim, he can't dunk in traffic and as a result always gets his shot blocked frequently. When you are almost 7 feet tall you are not suppossed to get your shot blocked on the interior as often as he does. I've watched him 2 seasons at G'town and have seen him live, he'll help (eventually) but he's not the answer, and I sure as heck wouldn't label him as untouchable in a trade, to Joe's credit there was no one else on the draft board I would have taken instead of Monroe, that said, I would have moved the pick!
He'll become the best passing C in the game. That's an asset. Plus he supposedly has a great BB IQ and a ton of skill. He'll learn to get his shot off. I've got little doubt about his future. My only Q is how fast he'll acclimate this season as the Pistons pretty much have to throw him to the wolves. Growing pains.
Time will tell. As Piston fan(atic)s we over value our young players. Last year looking at AUstin Daye you knew you had a player that needed time to grow and get acclimated, same with JJ, Monroe.......I'm just not seeing it. The knocks and questions on Greg were all about would his lack of athleticism allow him to flourish in the NBA. So far the answer is NO, and this is in the preseason against low level talent and guys playing at half speed. I'm hoping for the best, but he really needs a lot of work, I mean A LOT!!!! Right now he's not good enough to start and on a better team he'd be trying to just get into the rotation.
