Why is Our Defense Bad?

[menten]

i think drummond has also alot to do with our terrible D. i mean lets be real, he has no clue what to do on rotations and the pick n roll and i dont even wanna start to talk about his man to man D

[kurtis48239]

if we move smith to PF and trade monroe for a SF who can play defense (like jeff green or harrison barnes) our defense will ger ALOT better

Agreed. We can't have our best shot-blocker on the perimeter all game, when Monroe is so bad inside.

Good point. I think that if the Pistons want to win. They need to look to bring Moose off the bench. Slide Singler to starting SF. Roll the big line-up out mid games. Allow Monroe to spark the second unit. I think the line-up of:

G Jenning
G Caldwell-Pope
F Kyle Singler
F Josh Smith
C Andre Drummond:
Rotation:
Greg Monroe (C/PF)
Jonas Jerebko (PF/SF)
Rodney Stuckey (SG/PG/SF)
Chauncey Billups (PG/SG)

This nine man unit will make the team better instantly.

I like what you have there but I would put jorts at pf for the bench and experiment with gigi,mitchell,jonas at sf.

[DetroitDon15]

Agreed. We can't have our best shot-blocker on the perimeter all game, when Monroe is so bad inside.

Good point. I think that if the Pistons want to win. They need to look to bring Moose off the bench. Slide Singler to starting SF. Roll the big line-up out mid games. Allow Monroe to spark the second unit. I think the line-up of:

G Jenning
G Caldwell-Pope
F Kyle Singler
F Josh Smith
C Andre Drummond:
Rotation:
Greg Monroe (C/PF)
Jonas Jerebko (PF/SF)
Rodney Stuckey (SG/PG/SF)
Chauncey Billups (PG/SG)

This nine man unit will make the team better instantly.

I like what you have there but I would put jorts at pf for the bench and experiment with gigi,mitchell,jonas at sf.

I'd rather roll a tight nine man rotation so guys get in the flow of things. I don't think Harrellson is versatile enough with Monroe and the starters needing the minutes they do.

[MotownMadness]

Knight is at least tenacious on defense. Jennings being at the point ruins any semblance of good defense because penetration is that easy while he's on the court. I'm tempted to let anyone shoot over Jennings on D and make him guard a 2 instead of a point so that KCP can actually put pressure on the ball handler.

I agree with this. Jennings is by far the worse defender on the team. The breakdown on defense always starts with him giving up constant guard penetration. He forces the whole team into help defense leaving open 3s like crazy. Jennings is the biggest problem defensively.

[OneBadMutha]

Jennings and Monroe are two of the worst defenders starting in the NBA...both on and off the ball. Smith is out of position where he's gone from plus defender to a defensive liability. Drummond runs around with a ton of talent...but like a chicken with his head cut off. Drummonds issues are a combo of youth, coaching, and the fact that he's trying to cover for too many defensive leaks at once.

Get rid of Monroe and Jennings, shift Smith to PF, coach so that guys aren't consistently gambling for steals...and Drummond and the entire defense will get better.

[ChipButty]

Jennings and Monroe are two of the worst defenders starting in the NBA...both on and off the ball. Smith is out of position where he's gone from plus defender to a defensive liability. Drummond runs around with a ton of talent...but like a chicken with his head cut off. Drummonds issues are a combo of youth, coaching, and the fact that he's trying to cover for too many defensive leaks at once.

Get rid of Monroe and Jennings, shift Smith to PF, coach so that guys aren't consistently gambling for steals...and Drummond and the entire defense will get better.

I agree with this, although I think you are being a little harsh on Moose and I don't like giving Drummond a free pass. Drummond's defense rating is 107.9, which is 2nd worst on the team. CV is worst with a tweetable 117.6. If we are looking to improve the D, which imo is our biggest problem by far, I think KCP at SG and Smith at PF should be the first 2 names on the team sheet.

Going to be interesting to see how Rondo looks when he returns. Rondo and Green make a lot of sense for this team.

[ComboGuardCity]

Monroe is not a bad all around defender. Staaaaahp

[Q00]

i think drummond has also alot to do with our terrible D. i mean lets be real, he has no clue what to do on rotations and the pick n roll and i dont even wanna start to talk about his man to man D

I think its unfair to criticize Drummond's defense considering the circumstances. Its not normal for a Center to have to play defense with another Center at PF and a PF at SF. On top of that, a PG who can't guard anyone.

That alone will make any defensive anchor look confused.

Then when he comes back in the game to start the 2nd, he's usually surrounded by 4 guards, none of which are good defenders either.

However, if you look at his performance playing next to Smith at PF, we have a 97 defensive rating as a team.

So I think people need to wait until seeing Drummond in a more a conventional lineup, with at least competent defenders around him, before judging his defense. A defensive anchor can only clean up for so many players mistakes at once. And playing in only his 1st year as a starter, he's still learning how to defend his own position as well.

Fans are being too impatient with Drummond and his defense, not to mention unrealistic considering the lineups he's playing in.

[Q00]

In my opinion, the defense is bad because of several factors. Monroe playing PF when he's a Center. Putting Smith, our best shotblocker on the perimeter instead taking advantage of him in the paint. As well as the problem it poses with him guarding the 3 ball at that position. Then there's Jennings allowing dribble penetration at will. Plus Cheeks not really being a great team defensive coach.

Moving Smith to PF would alleviate 3 of the 5 issues in one move.