Who does Andre Drummond have to blow to get some real playing time??!!

[boozehound]

Originally Posted by Mr. I'm So Rad

It's mainly his conditioning. I wish he could play more too but he has to ease his way into starter minutes. Right now if had to play 25+ minutes a game he'd be exhausted. He just has to get himself in better shape and I'm sure he'll get more minutes. He's still young so he has plenty of time to get that stuff together. He has tons of potential though. Gonna be really fun to watch him in the future.

this is a bullshit excuse. absolutely. as is the work ethic shit leftover from the draft. He could clearly play 5 more minutes a game. Frank is an idiot.

[boozehound]

Originally Posted by FreezingTsmoove

He's a horribly conditioned NBA player. He's still a teenager though. The only reason hes not going for 40 mins a night is simply because he cant.

funny to see a bunch of non-pistons fans saying this garbage. Sure, he couldnt play 40 a night. few players can. But he could clearly play more than frank is playing him.

[boozehound]

Originally Posted by CHi1PriDe

His condition is not there yet and he usually backs up Monroe since there Detroit doesn't have a legit back up center

this is more the issue. Frank likes having a stretch 4. even max has been very solid from 15-19 this year (and has clearly been given the green light). I think this is partly why JJ has fallen from favor and CV is now the backup 4. Frank is ridiculous. Monroe is not a center and never will be.

[embersyc]

Even when Drummond is totally winded he is still the best player on the team. Not to mention he could probably squeeze a few more rested minutes in if he was starting. I love Maxiell, but it is time for him to go boost the bench back up.

[andremiller07]

Yeah imo Drummond should play between 22-30mins every game him and Monroe are a perfect PF/C combo, as far as his work ethic the guy flys all around on the court wtf are people talking about? Hes shown more then enough to be starting over Maxiell this year let the kid play exhausted or not.

[tomtucker]

OP =
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[Toizumi]

Originally Posted by boozehound

this is more the issue. Frank likes having a stretch 4. even max has been very solid from 15-19 this year (and has clearly been given the green light). I think this is partly why JJ has fallen from favor and CV is now the backup 4. Frank is ridiculous. Monroe is not a center and never will be.

Him shooting those jumpers is something I will never get used to seeing. It looks clumsy and awkward, but he knocks them down at a decent rate.
Although I don't mind Monroe playing C, I do agree that Frank is hurting the team with his coaching.

So here I go, as one of the millions of GM's around the world:
They should bring in Scott Skiles (if he wants to), who's on the market now, and make this team a defensive unit. He can develop young guys as well.
JJ seems like a player Skiles can really use effectively. Daye too. Make Monroe/Drummond the defensive frontcourt of the future and get Knight to distribute the ball better.
The Pistons should try to get rid of Stuckey, at basically any cost. Not because he's a bad player, but because he's not a great teamplayer (in my opinion).

Also, I wouldbring back Walker Russel Jr, for some veteran leadership and ball distribution of the bench. I'm a fan after seeing him play last season and he's in the D-league, ready for a call.

[Rake2204]

Originally Posted by embersyc

Even when Drummond is totally winded he is still the best player on the team. Not to mention he could probably squeeze a few more rested minutes in if he was starting. I love Maxiell, but it is time for him to go boost the bench back up.

The few times I've seen Drummond totally winded, he basically came to a standstill. I saw that more as a good thing though, as that exhaustion tended to come shortly after a wonderfully energetic burst. I think I agree with your logic though. If they wanted, the Pistons could probably find a pattern that'd still allow Drummond to play more minutes than he is now without running him extensively without a break.

All that said, I'm still okay with where we stand. His minutes are slowly increasing. He's averaging 23 minutes a night over his last ten games. I know we like to dump on Lawrence Frank, but it's not as if he's some rogue agent who was the only guy who has a hand in how the Pistons were going to develop the youngster. It certainly seems as if there's a plan there. Build him up, keeping feeding him pieces, don't give him the whole house right away.

Separately, there's a lot we don't know. I've seen some 19 year olds come into the league who I could have mistaken for being in their mid-20's (LeBron James). I never had that feeling with Drummond. Even from the little I see, I get a strong feeling he's a young, barely adult in a giant body. I wouldn't doubt there's a lot of learning and inexperience behind the scenes that the Pistons want to make sure they embrace before throwing all he could ever want at him.

At this point, it's not a matter of if Andre Drummond will get more playing time. It's not a Darko Milicic situation. Drummond's already increasing minutes are going to continue rising upward. And it's going to happen in a short period of time. I would guess he'll be up around 30 minutes a night by the time the season ends.