The Goat Pen

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Bklyn wrote:I thought he was big. He seems to play a little smaller than that, as far as his explosiveness off of two feet. Not a big deal, but he definitely is no Chris Webber, athletically.

I agree but he's bigger and he does have a lot of athletic ability. Webber was much more advanced at age 18/19. Still, Drummond looks like he has really good hands and a softer touch than I expected. He's made quite a few 4-6 footers in preseason, along with the dunks.

If he gets 25 mpg (and I think he should), I could see him being somewhere around 8-10 ppg, 8-10 rpg and 2 bpg. I'd be very pleased with that for a rookie season.

I think those numbers are REALLY optimistic and that's not a slight on Drummond. How many rookies in the last 5 years have averaged 8-10 rebounds a game and how many have almost averaged a double-double? I can't imagine there is more than a couple and only Blake comes to mind... and Drummond is no Blake.

I can't see Valuncianus averaging those numbers this year, and by all accounts, most NBA GM's have him pegged at a much higher upside. Even if Drummond just gets by on his athleticism, eventually teams will react and push him to spots on the floor where he won't feel comfortable.

So far, they've been keeping his minutes pretty low. He's at 14.4 mpg and is averaging 3.8 points, 61% FG, 4.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks. He's had some good moments and some moments where he looks lost on the floor. He's like a big puppy dog. Eager but not always clued in.
Also, for some reason, Coach Frank has yet to have Monroe and Drummond on the floor at the same time. This baffles me, as I think they compliment each other. On top of that, I believe the Pistons have been outrebounded in every game. Maxiell is playing well but he's still 6'7" in shoes. There aren't too many starting PF's in the league that he can battle. He's best suited coming off the bench.

The Pistons are 0-5. They've been in 3 of those games down to the wire but don't have a leader on the court yet. Knight is improving a little bit. Monroe was subpar in the first 3 games but has been coming on in the last two, including the first Pistons triple-double since 2004. I knew this opening road trip was going to be a meat-grinder but I was hoping they'd win 1 or 2.

The nicest surprise so far might be Kyle Singler. He's scoring 9.8 PPG, shooting 55% from the floor and 46% from 3. I wish Detroit could find a taker for Tayshaun. Tay's lost a step and is a slowdown player to begin with. Once Maggette comes back, I certainly hope Singler and English still get minutes and Tay loses some. I thank him for his play from 2002-2008 but it's time to turn the page, I think.

Detroit is at best a playoff bubble team and at worst a bottom 3 team. The one fun thing about this year is seeing Drummond, Knight, Monroe, Singler, Sir Kim English and even JJ develop. I do wish they had a vet PG that could teach Knight. Will Bynum isn't that guy. He's a 5'11" scoring guard that will give a team 5 good minutes and then 5 bad minutes. His best attribute on this year's team is he throws the best lob to Drummond, and even that can be off. He's trying out there but he often opts for 1 on 1 ball. He's like a homeless man's Iverson.

Rodney Stuckey did not make the above post. He's been pretty absent thus far. The Pistons broadcasters have been saying he's suffering from migraines but he's still in there playing. I think he started the season shooting 1 for 25. It was something god awful.

Well, Coach Frank finally broke down and played Moose and Drummond at the same time. What happened? Monroe found Drummond for lay-ups on their first two plays.

OKC still won but Drummond wound up playing over 20 minutes for the first time and had 22 points and 8 rebounds. He even made some FT's!

I haven't watched the Pistons play this year, besides the Laker game. They looked so bad in that game I pass by them on League Pass all the time now. Maybe if that young boy starts consistently putting up numbers I'll add them to my rotation. Right now, I'm really enjoying watching the Knicks, OKC, Portland, Houston and Miami. Chicago is playing exceptionally well, all considering, too.

On the RealGM Raptor forum threads can go 100 pages long, the Drummond thread is currently at version 3

if Drummond lets a fart they compare the stink to Terrence Ross'

this is what the bottom feeders are reduced to

Bklyn wrote:I haven't watched the Pistons play this year, besides the Laker game. They looked so bad in that game I pass by them on League Pass all the time now. Maybe if that young boy starts consistently putting up numbers I'll add them to my rotation. Right now, I'm really enjoying watching the Knicks, OKC, Portland, Houston and Miami. Chicago is playing exceptionally well, all considering, too.

He's had back to back double-doubles.

Last night, somewhat due to both Monroe and Maxiell getting in early foul trouble, he had his first 25+ minute stretch. He finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal. He was a +17, and that number really reflected his impact. The Pistons were down 12 in the first when he came in and led a run that got them back in the lead and down 15 in the 3rd. He stayed in for most of the remainder of the game but Detroit could get no closer than 3.

Most of us in Pistonland are hoping he starts (or at least starts getting 25 mpg instead of 15-17) ASAP.


p.s.- I'd put the Nets and Clips in the rotation for viewing. They're pretty fun to watch.

Yeah, I went to the Clips v Nets game a few Fridays ago. It was a great game...and the new arena is great, too. Lopez's bad wheel is concerning though. When he's playing and the whole team is relatively healthy (Deron will have a hurt hand all season, I think) they are a very good squad.

Crawford for The Clips was a tremendous pick up. He's made that team dangerous. Also, Memphis may make the rotation, too. I guess I will catch the next game with the D...but I will bail if they are still playing bad basketball.

I lived a couple of blocks away from the Barclays Center this past year but didn't stick around long enough to see the finished product. It looks good on TV. I thought the generic look for the new team colors/design was awful at first but now I think it kind of works.

I agree on Crawford. As a Wolverine fan, it's nice to see somebody pick up the torch Loy Vaught left many, many, years ago.

The Pistons play the bulls next, so they'll be going against somebody already in your rotation.

Huh? You lived within a screaming distance of me and we didn't catch up? Shame. I live in Fort Greene. Even Greg made it by and he lives in Irvine, CA! What were you doing in NY?

Why did you snub him, dog?

Yeah. I'm gonna ban him.

He heard you were black. Amar told him.

Damn you, Amaaaaar!

Bklyn wrote:Huh? You lived within a screaming distance of me and we didn't catch up? Shame. I live in Fort Greene. Even Greg made it by and he lives in Irvine, CA! What were you doing in NY?

Yeah, I was working on a TV show for 9+ months and then stayed for the rest of the summer. I bounced around from sublet to sublet but lived on Dean Street for the 1st week or so that I was there, literally right across the street from Barclays and then I lived in 2 different places on Bergen Street, one that was right by the park with Conrad McCrae Court. Other than that, I lived in East Harlem, Long Island City and Bushwick.

I wouldn't mind getting back out there if I can find another regular gig. I had a blast!

I think I posted on here about being in NY but I thought you were in LA for some reason.

Hey Tin, did the footage of your appearance as an extra on Boardwalk Empire make it to air?

was it just before Nucky's girlfriend got blown up?

It did make it but it was so damn brief. I knew it would be, as I had my back to the camera.



That's me on the left, carrying a thawing and bloody half calf. No Starbucks here!

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/22 ... me_Routine

Andre Drummond has made a habit of arriving several hours early to work on low-post moves with Detroit Pistons assistant Roy Rogers. Then he’ll study video on a laptop in front of his locker before joining the Pistons for pregame warmups.

“We have a consistent routine,” Drummond said. “Working on my post moves and watching different films of myself or the big (man) we’re playing that day, what I need to do to stop them and what I need to do to have a great game.”
The routine seems to be paying off, as Drummond leads all rookies in field goal percentage (58.6) and ranks sixth in the NBA in rebounds-per-minute.

“Andre’s been very, very good,” Lawrence Frank said. “He plays with a lot of energy and effort. When he does that, he’s a game-changer for us. He brings size and athleticism that we don’t have. In the minutes he’s played, his offensive rebounding and his rebounding in general has been outstanding. His ability to be a rim-protector is very, very good. The more he learns, the more he continues to dedicate to his craft, we think he has huge upside.”