FanPost

Greg Monroe is not the 2009 Rashard Lewis (which could be a good or bad thing)

I love Greg Monroe. He's been a model of consistency since he joined the Pistons and has proved himself to be very valuable during his first few years in the league. In the season before that other really big guy got here, Monroe averaged 15.4 points on 52% shooting along with 10 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. For a 2nd year big, those numbers are terrific...particularly the field goal percentage. Monroe is an efficient player, one of the most efficient players in the league. He knows his strengths and weaknesses and he does a very good job of playing within those. I personally think Greg would have been close to a 20 point scored in his third season if it weren't for the rare good fortune of landing Andre Drummond. I think we all had our doubts about whether or not Monroe could play PF next to Drummond, and we did the right thing by experimenting to see if their partnership in the front-court would work. I think the results were largely positive...until....I refuse to mention his name.

Last year sucked. It sucked for everybody. The hiring of Stan Van Gundy made most of the fan base feel like we were back on the right track...after all, Drummond is nearly identical to the role Dwight Howard played with the Eastern Conference Champions Orlando Magic. The charge for the off-season was to sign more shooters...get more shooting. So, in came Meeks, Augustin and Butler (and Martin). But, we haven't resigned Greg Monroe yet...what gives!? All of the recourse surrounding Greg Monroe this off-season has mostly centered around the question, "why hasn't he signed yet?" But I really think another question is perhaps more important: Does Greg Monroe at the Power Forward position fit into Stan Van Gundy's offensive scheme?

I am not suggesting that Van Gundy is savvy enough to make it work well...and Monroe is definitely talented enough to deserve a coach's commitment to refine his traditional system. But, is Monroe the optimum player alongside Drummond in Van Gundy's scheme? The Moose is completely different than Rashard Lewis, the power forward on Van Gundy's Magic squad. His ability to hit 3's and stretch the floor allowed Howard the room inside to dominate and gave space for guards like Jameer Nelson to penetrate. It was hard to find...but I went digging for some stats that included lineups with Dwight Howard and a player similar to Greg Monroe, Marcin Gortat. Nope. Not saying Gortat in 2009 was better than Monroe...but they have similar enough games to make the comparison. Here's an article that depicts the offensive and defensive numbers when they shared the floor that year:

http://www.orlandopinstripedpost.com/2009/6/9/903425/can-dwight-howard-and-marcin

Essentially, while 3 point percentage numbers went up...overall field goal percentage numbers were dramatically lower. This data only represents 42 total minutes so I don't want to seem like I'm utilizing this information as the end-all, be-all. But, this sample size would suggest that opposing teams really clogged the lane and forced the Magic to shoot from the perimeter. Of course, the Magic had the talent necessary to succeed from the perimeter (they shot 9 of 16 from the 3pt line in 42 minutes with Gortat and Howard on the court), but they only shot 15 of 40 from 2 point range.

Again, I'm 100% for resigning Monroe...but I have to admit that I'm a little anxious about seeing what Van Gundy's offense looks like without a stretch 4. Many of you may disagree, but an ideal scenario from a spacing standpoint might include trade options for guys like Kevin Love (I realize that we'd need to send more to the Timberwolves and there is no guarantee Love would want to resign), Markief Morris, Marcus Morris, etc. I think it'd be best to see what Van Gundy can do with Monroe and Drummond (with a real SF at SF) for the first 30 games of the season and make a decision based on how it all fits. But, there is no question that Monroe is not Rashard Lewis...and this year's offense will look very different from the 2009 Magic.

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