Monroe Starting PF, Drummond Starting C?

[Pugz]

“They basically said I need to be prepared to play power forward,” Monroe told me after a lengthy workout Monday at the team’s practice facility. “They’re looking for at least one of those guys to be ready (Drummond or Kravtsov), so I’ve started to prepare myself to be ready to play the four. We’ve been working on stuff to have me in those positions.”

Monroe feels the transition would be relatively seamless, especially on the offensive end.

“It’s very OK with me,” he said. “With us there’s not that much of a difference, anyway. I’m not really worried about the transition. I’ve been playing power forward and center all my life, so I’m comfortable with playing either. I’m comfortable with the ball in the mid-post and at the elbow. Defensively, maybe that would be the only thing – guarding different types of players. I would have to scout more, learn the guys’ tendencies. It would be different footwork, moving your feet more.

“But I’m ready for the challenge. Like I’ve always said, I’m here to do whatever my team needs me to do. Defense is the staple of this organization. It’s what coach L is trying to do, so I’m just here to work as hard as I can to get better at that, too.”

good news to see hes ready to slide over. im sure itll be just fine. its also nice to see that we're willing to start drummond right away. id like to see him start from to get go.

 

[RipCity32]

No point not letting him start day 1, to be honest.

 

[Mr.Baller]

I would love to see how this duo turns out for D-TOWN

 

[jonathanlambert33]

No point not letting him start day 1, to be honest.

You don't want to throw him into the fire that quickly if he isn't ready, especially a guy as young as he is.

 

[RipCity32]

Never been a guy who thinks waiting is the best way to develop a player.
I feel like getting them out there day 1 and having them play as much as possible is the best way to develop a young dude. Gotta get experience.

 

[Pugz]

if we had a better coaching staff and a nice core group of vets then waiting would be fine. in our case its best he gets out there and plays a decent amount. let him learn from his mistakes in game. its not like we're putting all this pressure on him. if we arent good then we arent good.

he just needs to get in and play defense and rebound. he and greg are better off developing chemistry now anyways.

 

[RipCity32]

Yeah, plus I think his defense right now is good enough to make him a starter.

 

[jonathanlambert33]

Never been a guy who thinks waiting is the best way to develop a player.
I feel like getting them out there day 1 and having them play as much as possible is the best way to develop a young dude. Gotta get experience.

Just throwing him into the fire is a great way to crash someone's confidence, though I'm not saying Drummond isn't or is ready to be a starter.

I've felt a great way to build confidence in a guy is to say your getting 14-20 minutes a game and we'll record everything you do (or tell him he's going in for a 10 count, something like that), let him go in spurts (maybe 4 minutes here, 5 minutes there, etc) and just let him go out there and pop a lung because of how hard he's going. He knows he's coming out no matter so he's going to go as hard as he can, he'll play harder than anyone else on the floor, he's a game disrupter basically. He'll gain confidence in himself, become more comfortable, etc.

Then after that, you can start increasing his minutes little by little until he's eventually built up starter minutes.

 

[RipCity32]

Just throwing him into the fire is a great way to crash someone's confidence, though I'm not saying Drummond isn't or is ready to be a starter.

I've felt a great way to build confidence in a guy is to say your getting 14-20 minutes a game and we'll record everything you do (or tell him he's going in for a 10 count, something like that), let him go in spurts (maybe 4 minutes here, 5 minutes there, etc) and just let him go out there and pop a lung because of how hard he's going. He knows he's coming out no matter so he's going to go as hard as he can, he'll play harder than anyone else on the floor, he's a game disrupter basically. He'll gain confidence in himself, become more comfortable, etc.

Then after that, you can start increasing his minutes little by little until he's eventually built up starter minutes.

IDK, he seems like a pretty confident and kid. I don't think his confidence will be an issue with his progression. Just a matter of if he can put it all together.

 

[jonathanlambert33]

He may seem confident now, but there's no way of knowing how young guys will react when they get into the dog days of a NBA season. I'd also argue the above approach helps players learn their roles on a team, and what they are good at and what they need to work on. It's not a knock on him because majority of young guys are like this, but I'm not so sure Drummond completely understands his role yet.

 

[Pugz]

we arent asking him to score. all we want now is rebounding and defense. his natural size and ability will help him do that.

 

[RipCity32]

I think becoming good friends and playing with two of the hardest working young players in the league in Knight and Monroe will be very good for him as well. Even Kim English. Just seems like Drummond is in a good situation as far as teammates to motivate him is concerned.

 

[jonathanlambert33]

Depends on how well he dives into playbooks and scouting reports. You know this, it's not as easy as just throwing a guy out there and say "go play defense and rebound." He has to understand team defensive rotations on ball screens and traps. Defensive positioning, deny the wing, helping and recovering, he has to understand personnel, defending the post, defending cutters, defending screens, and so on. If a guy doesn't understand that, it's pointless to put him out there as a starter.

Again, I hope yall know I'm talking about players in general, not just Drummond.

 

[Pugz]

we get it. i thinkas fans most of us expect him to struggle a bit and hit a rookie wall but i want to see him play through it still.

 

[RipCity32]

Yeah. I'd just rather see Drummond out there than have us forced to start Maxiell's garbage ass for half a season again lol.

 

[jonathanlambert33]

we get it. i thinkas fans most of us expect him to struggle a bit and hit a rookie wall but i want to see him play through it still.

As fans of the Pistons? I don't think yall do.

Yall just want to see him play, but don't want to see that starting and playing him while he doesn't understand the game and just gets bullied by other professionals or have coaches up his back because he makes mental errors doesn't help him in the long run.

As a Hornets fan, I can admit that if Austin Rivers isn't ready, Monty won't play him very much. You gain just as much as a young player from playing 14-20 minutes a night that you do playing 30-35 minutes a night, you aren't hurting the team and you still have tape to look at and fix your errors. Remember all these coaches and players are working for their jobs.

 

[Pugz]

i think we do. we already said why him sitting on the bench wont help. we dont have the right vets willing to help him throughout the game by talking to him and we dont have a great staff.

just because hes starting doesnt mean hes getting 35 minutes a night either..

 

[RipCity32]

Yeah if he starts, I don't see him getting more than 25 a night. As much as he'd probably end up getting off the bench anyway. But I think his defense will be enough for him to give us the okay to start him.

 

[jonathanlambert33]

I can almost guarantee if they start him it's going to be because they feel he's ready to get 28-32 minutes a night. Not just because they want to see him play.

 

[Pugz]

its not about seeing him play, its about us not having a starter worthy center. why not just start the guy we want as our franchise center?


fuck it. idk what im talking about..