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| Two key cogs in the Pistons engine. That's how engines work right? |
The more I look at this Piston team the more I'm starting to like it. They have some serious pieces in place for the future in the front court. I really like the idea of a lineup with Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe at the 5 and the 4 a lot. Greg Monroe still gets his offense from the low block but with an improved elbow jump shot Monroe could develop into a great high post big. And Monroe's passing has only been getting better. He is averaging a career high 3.2 assists which is good enough for 5th best out of centers. While his turnovers are super high right now, 108 is the most for centers in the top 50 of assists, he still is only 22 and has plenty of time to cut down on those. The second half of the Pistons big lineup would be Drummond. Detroit took Drummond largely on potential and Drummond has shown flashes of the athletic monster he could be. His quickness and jumping ability has translated well to the NBA pick n roll game. Drummond is slowly beginning to morph into a serious roll man in his first season. While his offensive game is pretty much limited to PnRs his defense has been solid. Drummond and Monroe seem made for each other. Monroe can score on the block at a good clip and Drummond can protect the paint with his athleticism. In the super small amount of time they both share the court,46 minutes, there opponents have posted 94 points per 100 possessions. I would love to see this lineup more to see if this is just an fluke but either way that is pretty impressive.
The bigs may be the future, but the Pistons also have some decent enough pieces that may turn into very good complements to Drummond and Monroe. Brandon Knight has been quietly averaging just about 40% from three and 5 assists per game. His shooting would be key to any PnRs with Drummond. Knight has to continue to develop the three ball to make defenders pay for going under screens. I can picture a play where Knight comes off of a Drummond screen to attack the basket while Monroe flashes to the weak side elbow. This could lead to Knight attacking the basket or Monroe ending up with the ball to shoot it or dish off to a rolling Drummond. I also have an irrational belief that Kyle Singler could morph into a very good forward that is similar to a poor mans 07-08 Tayshaun Prince. But that's just a lot of irrational love for him though. Add with a lottery pick that probably will come this season and some useless veteran salaries coming off the books in a couple years the Pistons seem to be gearing up to firing on all cylinders soon. Or something I guess, this isn't a car blog.
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