DET v LAC 9:30pm

[menten]

i think its safe to say the calderon trade and his insertion into the startin lineup was a ridiculously huge failure. dear god, please let joe not resign this guy

[princeofpalace]

Its not Monroe's fault that every single one of our Guards and Wings not named Brandon Knight blows their defensive assignments. Greg is actually an adequate man to man defender, but he is a terrible help defender.

If we had guards and wings that could hold their own at least, we wouldnt require a C to play Hero with last resort shot blocking. Its great that Drummond can fill that void, but really he shouldnt have to either.

If we are going to be an elite defensive team we need a PG, SG , SF and PF that can cover their man so Drummond wont have to play savior. Calderon, Singler, Maxiel are obvious weak links in the starting lineup and need to be replaced ASAP. We also need defenders on the bench.

Scapegoating Monroe for this team defensive woes is ridiculous because nearly the entire roster blows defensively outside. As a result, Monroe looks worst because people for whatever reason think he should have to cover the mistakes of his guards and wings. He has never been a defensive anchor, this cant be the first season that you have seen him play

[menten]

Scapegoating Monroe for this team defensive woes is ridiculous because nearly the entire roster blows defensively outside. As a result, Monroe looks worst because people for whatever reason think he should have to cover the mistakes of his guards and wings. He has never been a defensive anchor, this cant be the first season that you have seen him play

we're not blaming him for our defensive suckiness but for not even **** trying anymore. it looks like he has quit on this them the last couple of weeks

[Goldtop]

Rumors had Smith wanting to lose weight last offseason to play more SF....we all know Dumars has liked him in the past. I can easily see Dumars throwing Max money at Smith and telling him to get into SF shape.

Whether it will work or not is a big question mark -- but I can see Dumars doing it. He loves playing the 'squeeze a square peg into a round hole game.'

The thing is you can sign Smith to play SF, and then if Monroe doesn't work out at PF, you have someone to replace him up front, just sliding Smith up to the 4.

Plus, having Smith and Drummond out there with Monroe would cover up his defensive issues even more, as you have another helpside defender out there who can rotate into the paint and protect the rim against bigs, whenever Monroe gets beat.

So I think that trio could work together as our frontline. Remember Smith is only 6-9, 225 lbs. He's got the body of a SF. Its not like he's 6-11 and just not capable of matching up with SF's. And if Monroe doesn't pan out next to Drummond, you have Smith aleady to replace him.

He may not be worth the max compared to a LeBron or CP3, but of all the FAs available he would be of the most help to us, and best fit, I think.

It would not in any way be similar to the CV/BG signings, as Smith plays defense and rebounds, unlike CV, and is one of the most multi-dimensional players in the league, unlike BG, and is consistent at all those areas, unlike both of them.

[Manocad]

i really hope this just starts us tanking. no more of this winning to finish the season

i think we've been tanking

This team has been tanking whether they're intentionally doing it or not. Losses are losses and this team can't even put up a decent effort anymore. There is nothing good about the way this team plays at this point; they're disgusting to watch.