Greg Monroe selected #7 by the Detroit Pistons

I know. There isn't a single player on the Pistons roster averaging 1+ blocks a game.

Other than Monroe, there also isn't any player averaging 7+ rebounds. Closest is JJ with 5.6 rebs a game.

At 7 pts a game, he'd be our 7th highest scorer. He'd be the 3rd highest scoring big man behind Monroe and JJ.

Magloire would be the starting PF and provide an immediate boost to our frontline. We are really that thin at the 4-5 spots.

Maxiell as a starter is better than that.

9.7 points
8.1 rebs
0.9 assists
1.0 steal
1.2 blocks
Per 36 minutes.

He's had 8 blocks in 6 games as a starter and we are 4-2 (and against competition that has been stiff....s).

He's made 28 free throws this year to Ben Wallace's 0. Ben only has 28 total points sadly.

That's some elite company above him.

Since Stuckey is at 25 years old.........he didn't make the list. Still........as a rookie...

Maxiel shoots free throws at a 56% clip. Looking at Maxiel's game log last year is very bizarre. His minutes were all over the place. He would play 28 minutes one night, 0 minutes the next, 27 minutes the next, then 2 minutes the following game. That is crazy.

His form is weird.

Surprisingly, Maxiell takes almost half of his shots from outside the paint and converts them at a nice rate of .273.

Inside the paint, he shoots .551, gets blocked .220, and just plain misses .229. So, he has about the same odds of missing as getting blocked... that has to be a rarity.

Monroe only gets blocked 6% of the time in the paint now they he has gotten a little craftier with experience.

I'm surprised.
Don't know if people in ESPN.com are watching other sports or what but this really makes me stop and wondering..



It seems what all of us, Pistons fans, are complaining about when we talk about Monroe (poor defense and lack of athleticism) it's not what others see from outside..

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE Monroe, but he is not becoming into one of the most athletic big man.
When I think in the most athletics big men out there, I think in Griffin, Bynum before injuries, Dwight Howard, Garnett in his prime, Amar'e. Pretty much anyone who can perform an alleyoop finishing with a dunk instead of a lay up.

Am I wrong?

I don't see Monroe as being non-athletic. ...he just isn't a leaper.
He runs the floor VERY well. He handles the rock for a 6-10 guy pretty well. He's a good passer. He's strong enough to get himself into position on D and for rebounds. He has a quick first step on offense. He has good hands and can catch passes.

...just because he can't jump doesn't mean he's not a good athlete.

Well, perhaps I have a wrong meaning of what athletic means, yes, I didn't count his strength to be part of it.

BUT .. His lateral movement in defense is really slow. (That's what is costing him being bad at defense) and being a good passer does not mean athletic.
He has a quick first step for being a big man, but his shot is slow. I mean, until he release the shot and jumps (he doesn't really jumps he just lift his feets of the floor a little bit) that is really slow.. he is not a quick shooter.

Nothing bad about it, but for me Monroe is becoming one of the best offensive big men in the league, no doubt about that.

When I first saw him at G-Town, I thought that he wasn't a great athlete. As I watched more of him, I changed my mind. He has great body control. He can really move up and down the court when he wants to. He's not a gazelle, but he can move. He's just not an "explosive" athlete. I would guess that his vertical leap is somewhere in the low 30s. He'll never dunk all over people or be a big shot blocker, but if he could do those things, then he probably would have gone #1 overall and we wouldn't have a potential 20/10 guy.

The fact that Monroe can't jump could work to his advantage in a weird way. I think he is a lot less likely to get injured with a 2 inch vertical jump.

Exactly. I also think it gives him another advantage in the fact that we don't have to worry if he'll still be a good player when he loses his "explosive athleticism" since he doesn't have any. He plays like a savvy and crafty vet. Personally I like his below the rim game.

still, as long as he doesn't get an Ibaka-type player next to him, that's problematic!!!

it's simply another phrase, used without thinking about it. A young black American big must be athletic, a white European has to be a good shooter and so on.

While Ibaka is ideal, he's not necessary. This team is good when Greg simply gets a solid and consistent performance from 1 other front court player, be it Tay, JJ, or Max; unfortunately those 3 are very inconsistent. Don't get me wrong JJ's effort is consistent, but some nights it doesn't translate to the Box Score.

Just because he doesn't block tons of shots doesn't mean Monroe is a bad defender.

Look at steals per game for centers:
1. Dwight Howard 1.46
2. Greg Monroe 1.44
No one else over 1.00

Monroe piles up steals like others pile up blocks. Steals are better, of course, since they result in a turnover. Blocked shots often end up in the hands of the offense.

The 2" verticle jump served Bill Laimbeer very well.

During their run, guys like Rip and Billups could make mistakes on defense and those mistakes would get erased by Wallace X 2.

Monroe isn't ever going to be that guy to erase mistakes. The Pistons will need to add that piece before they are ready to contend again.

still, you need someone to protect the paint. Lakers had Bynum and Gasol, Mavs Haywood and (last season) Chandler, Clipps have Jordan, Bulls Noah, Magic Dwight and so on. The days of non-shotblocking teams winning big, like the Bulls with Luc Longley or the Pistons with Laimbeer seem to be over I guess - partly because the rules changed in a way that makes it extremely easy for every quick guard to get into the paint.

One thing that most "non athletic" bigs have is jump shooting ability. It's easy for bigs to get their shots off on the perimeter because the opposing defender is uncomfortable venturing out there. Monroe has potential in this area, but he's no Kevin Love. He's more of a Tim Duncan here again.

On D, I could imagine him become a really solid defender just through positioning, strength, and intelligence. Not leaving your feet on D is an OK strategy if you're 7 feet tall.

Getting him a high flying partner would work well on offense too.

I just read an article the other day that stated the obvious, but it was something I didn't fully appreciate. The Pistons have recently filled the 2 hardest positions to fill with Monroe and Knight. If you can do that in consecutive draft years, that is a pretty good start at a rebuild.

Yes, that always makes me smile and think of a brighter future.

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Oh.. By the way, I want to know your opinion.

What do you guys think Monroe will do when his contract is up? Leave for a big market? Leave for a contender? Stay loyal to the team?

I'm really worried about that.