Drummond/Monroe/Smith

[princeofpalace]

Yeah our bigman trio is looking very good. Im loving Smith's impact on the defense even though his offense last game hurt us bigtime. Smith is infectious, even Monroe has upped his defensive intensity! I am very impressed with Greg, he's bringing the energy on both sides of the floor. Love Smith on defense and Drummond's rebounding prowess is awesome.

I think once we get Jennings in the lineup, Smiths 3 attempts will go down. Granted, Jennings might be the one chucking up 3s now (I hope not!). But I like him to hit a long range jumper more than I like Smith.

As far as trades our concerned- Im still in the mindset that Bynum/Stuck need to be moved for shooters. Jennings/Billups/Siva is fine for our PG rotation. We need 2 shooting guards who can actually shoot the ball though aside from KCP. As long as we have 2 shooters in there with Smith/Monroe/Drummond- I think we will be more than fine.

Which teams need Gs?

[Dre Drummond]

Davis off the bench and Afflalo starting would really balance out our 9 man rotation...

C:Dre/Davis
PF:Monroe/Smith
SF:Smith/Singler
SG:Afflalo/Billups
PG:Jennings/Bynum

That could be a top 4 or 5 rotation in the east for sure.... adding a talent like Davis to come off the bench and having a motivated 3 & D Afflalo starting at SG... with a healthy Jennings.

[Moses ShamMoses]

As far as trades our concerned- Im still in the mindset that Bynum/Stuck need to be moved for shooters. Jennings/Billups/Siva is fine for our PG rotation.

I agree and disagree. I think Jennings/Billups/Siva is fine HOWEVER I don't trust Billups durability. If he goes down are you ok with Siva as our backup PG? From what I've seen Siva is not ready for that role.

[Notanoob]

Davis off the bench and Afflalo starting would really balance out our 9 man rotation...

C:Dre/Davis
PF:Monroe/Smith
SF:Smith/Singler
SG:Afflalo/Billups
PG:Jennings/Bynum

That could be a top 4 or 5 rotation in the east for sure.... adding a talent like Davis to come off the bench and having a motivated 3 & D Afflalo starting at SG... with a healthy Jennings.

Davis is nice and all, but we already are playing Moose as the backup 5. If we bring in Big Baby, we're just going to cut into Moose's minutes, because Smith is still going to see plenty of time at the 4.

I'd love to have Afflalo back though, he'd take Chauncey's minutes at SG and allow him to rest and run the point more. Plus, he's a perfect fit, playing hard and spacing the floor. He's basically an older, more polished version of KCP.

[Jackattaq]

Me as a fan of BIG MAN BASKETBALL, am LOVING this big man rendition of basketball. I've always felt SIZE WINS IN BASKETBALL. If it didn't would we be watching a game with a bunch of 5'5" guys out there? I've hated the league's move toward small ball the last few years and hated how every coach says "I went small to match-up with what they were doing". I want a team to have to match up to what WE ARE DOING. To see us as a team have true athletes out there and to NOT have our painted area become a freeway for opposing guards to drive down and get easy baskets is truly refreshing. I'm excited to see the Pistons fans have something fun to watch.

This team is still just scratching the surface of what they can become. Andre hasn't "dominated" anything yet, he's had good numbers and been opportunistic in his offense. He's not even getting plays run for him. Monroe has been pretty darn good so far, but he has to find a way to cut his turnovers and take better care of the ball and catch the ball more efficiently.

Josh Smith is just a supremely talented guy that is a jack of all trades and master of none. He's a phenom on defense and when he focuses on defense, he was wreaking havoc out there. His hands, size and quickness and leaping ability are all in full effect when he turns it on. You put him next to Drummond and it's a very scary proposition for opponents when they try to drive the lane or make a pass across the middle.

Monroe has been a focal point offensively and at times he's looked very good. At other times he looks sloppy and rushed. He still hasn't had the advantage of having Jennings as an outlet when the post-up isn't there. I hope Monroe can focus and get his turnovers down as guys learn their roles and where to move to and cut to on offense.

Drummond has impressed me with his improvement in his conditioning. Last year he could not have played 48 minutes in an OT game. He was out of gas after 4-5 minute spurts. That says a lot about his commitment to becoming a better player. He's not getting plays run for him (and he shouldn't really at this point, much the way I felt about Ben Wallace) but he's still finding ways to get shots (tip-ins, running hard on the fast break, cutting to the hoop for the lobs). I like that Drummond has great hands and with Josh playing kind of a point forward role, he needs to stay ready to catch the ball, between Josh and Monroe, I LOVE THE PASSING AMONG OUR TRIO OF BIGS.

2 games in, I don't think anyone is ready to anoint this TRIO as a success yet, but the potential is there. This is the most enjoyable Pistons team we've (Pistons fans) had to watch since the Big Ben, Sheed and McDyess days. It's exciting and this Trio of bigs has made me excited for every Pistons game. Wanna see some serious butt-kicking laid on the Celtics on Sunday.

GO PISTONS !!!!

[treefi]

Smith and Monroe turning the ball over too much.

Jennings looks incredible

Drummond hasn't even had a good game yet... lol

[Redeemed]

I love what I'm seeing in frontcourt. There are freckles and room for growth, but the guys will do just that get better as the season wears on. I'm confused about Moose and seeming issue with his hands. He has been really sure handed in his young career. From what I can see, it seems like Moose is trying to get into his move before he catches the ball (old Bernard King approach).

Is anyone else seeing that? It just looks like he's trying to get into his move too quickly. That's do-able, but it takes considerable concentration and muscle memory to make that a part of your game. Moose either has to slow down or he has to take WAY more reps in practice where he goes into his move as the ball is touching his hands. Either way I think Moose will be ok. He's one of those players who figures "it" out during the season.

I am concerned about Josh Smith's turnovers. He's doing WAY too much. He passes ok, he is hardly a playmaker. Josh has to relinquish some of the playmaking duties and cut the threes down to no more than 4 a game...3 would be better.

Drummond is a monster...who needs to work on his free throws (get comfortable and confident...settle into a routine and don't change it). On D he sometimes looks small because he's content with reaching in for the strip instead of clogging the lane and swatting shots. With that said, he's making things look really easy...and subsequently making Lawrence Frank look like an idiot for sitting him so long.

[zeebneeb]

Good grief our front-court is sick.

averaging 50-30 and 4bpg, along with 6spg, and over 6apg.

I really like our front-court.

I cant even imagine what this team is going to look like 35games in, wow.

If they can just get thru the first part of the season at .500 they could make the playoffs, and it all hinges on this front-court, and early results, are looking great.

[princeofpalace]

I am pleasantly surprised at how much more active Greg has been on defense, he's still not a great defender but he exerts so much more effort on that end of the court than he has in years past. Both Drummond and Smith's defensive intensity is infectious. Greg has been our best frontcourt player so far, so hopefully the Monroe trade's will die down. These are our 3 guys and they look darn great together. Im very impressed thus far.

I can't wait to say how the addition of Jennings in the starting lineup will shake things up

[treefi]

Updated again--

Greg Monroe needs more shot attempts. So far he has been our best option offensively(by far) and to everyone's surprise he is rebounding at the same rate as Andre Drummond. 17 and 11! The best part is that his defense has almost been as good as Andre's this year.

Speaking of Andre, Drummond has not been nearly as dominate as he was last year... but he is still putting up 11 and 11! His defense and rebounding seems to have taken a step back(only 4 games) but I think it has more to do with him getting used to playing 38 minutes a night.. as well as getting chemistry with our guards(who keep shuffling around). I really, really want to see Jennings figure out how to throw alley oops to Andre asap.

Josh Smith is taking way too many long jumpers and turning the ball over nearly 5 times a game. Next up, Kevin Durant.

[MagnusPinus]

It's an unconventional front court for today's Nba.. usually teams have just one real interior player and the 4 is already a perimeter guy. With these 3 guys there is basically no 3 point shooting but of course a huge advantage in rebounding and size. It's like a trio from the 80s.. Imo one of the 3 guys will be traded, and I think it will be Monroe in the end, allowing the team to have a more orthodox lineup. Will see what happens, but in general it's difficult to afford having 3 guys with no real range at the same time.. it just reduces the room on the floor, and it's normal the team struggles with shooting.