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Was recently reading a piece from S.I.... they were talking about Drummond being ignored for the allstar team... then there was another one from Zack Lowe talking about how Monroe should be considered for the A.S. squad.
For those that have played organized ball you may relate to focusing primarily on your position... there can be a lot of action around the ball and you're totally locked into your guy... I have to say I sometimes ignore the game just to watch to see if Monroe or JJ or Tolliver are getting the job done... checking to see if they stepped out to hedge the P&R without over committing... did they pick up the PF/C high enough to seal the paint for the board... did they recognize their teammate helping so they could quickly slide into the space between two offensive players to prevent an easy opportunity.
It's no secret that I have been highly critical of Monroe because I see things that understandably most might not... some frustration weas from lack of recognition and some from physical slow response time... let's be honest he's typically matched up against players that have quicker twitch reflexes... this is why he's been more inclined to gravitate to the rim.
But this is not about finding faults about our PFs and Centers... more-so taking a look into the where we should go from here with our bigs.
If there's a player you don't like It's easy to pick a side and stick to your guns no matter what you actually see... I 've recently gained more respect for Pop because she has been willing to be critical of Monroe when he was not performing up to par... In the same respect I wanted to give some positive feedback from recent games... what I've noticed is that Greg is jumping out and challenging the perimeter much better than before and giving the effort challenging guard penetration... actually altering shots (ok, so it's a work in progress).... it will always be difficult for Moose keeping up with quicker opponents so he needs to recognize situations early on so he has time to react... I think playing PF will help with his time at the 5 in the future... and I think he can develop a mid range game (he's actually regressed this year due to missing shots earlier)... he needs to continue to shoot from 10-15' ... and the time is right to start.
One last thing on G.M.... when he gets the feed he needs to survey the space first before putting the ball on the floor... it's better to kick out and hopefully get the 2nd feed than to get stripped... I've noticed that he's starting to look up on his dribble... this will allow him to pick up and make the help defender pay.... his post moves are reminiscent of Lanier and Barkley... a lot of pumps, twists and dives... very mature at this stage... certain to get players in foul trouble... just can't put a finger on his growth potential... leaning toward him being near his ceiling.

For Andre I would love to see him play in space and get feeds early in the clock... the baby hook is looking better... and I think he may be getting enough respect to start adding a drop-step.
Where he gets in trouble is when he spins around in circles with no purpose... all that does is allow defenders to pinch down and help... or an off balanced shot.
Our guards are completely missing the boat of utilizing his athletic ability... especially D.J. (it's all about my tunnel vision)... there is no excuse for him not feeding Dre like Bynum with how easily he get's inside.
What bug the Sh## out of me is when Drummond floats around the paint instead of using his strength and leverage... seriously, how much did he outweigh Noel by?... he has to come down and bully his way inside to 5 feet (using angles) then he can control the paint...very few should be able to box him out.
On defense he really needs a shock collar so he can pay attention to what's going on before it's too late... however he often gets a bad rep for getting in foul trouble trying to help (please play the penetrator's direction vs. the body)... but in fairness he's not getting the help he needs either.

A little long winded... I was hoping to get a discussion started about our guys up front and how we can make it work moving forward... thanks

I don't have an eye quite on your level but it's obvious they both have a lot of good habits to learn still, which makes it amazing how productive they both are even as immature players.

I'd love to add a true stretch four in the draft like towns, porZynga's, or Looney... To play the JJ/Tolliver minutes.

Other than that I'm good rolling with Drumroes development. I hope Monroe stays.

http://www.detroitbadboys.com/2015/1/30 ... ade-rumors

The link above has a small write up about Monroe and a link to the Zach Lowe article mentioned in the OP.

It's fairly clear to me that Monroe doesn't get the respect he deserves. The unfortunate part about it is he doesn't get it on these boards.

Monroe has improved on defense which was a pleasant surprise this year. Lowe pretty much nailed it on the head with him outplaying Dre on a more consistent basis.

I have no problems with the rest of your analysis mercury, spot on as well.

Honestly, the argument against Monroe is no longer his lack of defense, but now it has shifted towards his so called "inefficiencies" and being "soft." Which I thought was an ironic twist. Can he be a bit better on the offensive side, yes of course, but select few on this board are really grasping for straws at this point.

For the most part I'm happy with the growth of our bigs on defense. I don't think we can get a true read on their offense until we start hitting our outside shots , people just pack the paint on us. I've always liked KCP but i'm starting to get frustrated with his shooting ,when your badly missing wide open 3's somethings wrong.We need to up grade the the back court badly this summer.

Monroe will always be criticized because he has a lot of subtlety and nuances to his game that most people don't or can't see.

Great post Mercury - I appreciate reading your analysis of actual play.

Good post for the most part Mercury, you're usually uber negative. Nice change, you should consider sticking with this vibe.

I agree with most all of it. I've been a huge critic of the 2 bigs being under utilized for some time. Great break down on both guys!

DBC10 wrote:Monroe has improved on defense which was a pleasant surprise this year. Lowe pretty much nailed it on the head with him outplaying Dre on a more consistent basis.

I have no problems with the rest of your analysis mercury, spot on as well.

Honestly, the argument against Monroe is no longer his lack of defense, but now it has shifted towards his so called "inefficiencies" and being "soft." Which I thought was an ironic twist. Can he be a bit better on the offensive side, yes of course, but select few on this board are really grasping for straws at this point.

amen