I put my thick rubber gloves on and my fisherman’s boots, plugged my nose and strapped on five pairs of goggles like jockeys do on muddy race days. I’m diving into Detroit this morning. Chill out, I’ve had my shots. Greg Monroe, the 7th overall pick in this year’s draft, earned his third straight double-double after John Kuester kept him on the floor for 43 minutes in last night’s loss to the Bulls. Deep leaguers are rightfully rushing to roster the former Hoya. Deep leaguers are rarely wrong to roster anyone. It’s a deep league. Most players on the court deserve consideration. If you’re rostering Brian Scalabrine, you’re wrong to be doing so. DaJuan Summers? You’re wrong. <– DaJuan Summers’ first (and probably final) appearance at Razzball. Rostering Monroe isn’t foolish. A dub-dub is a dub-dub. But his dub-dubs come with a shizzton of caveats. The first being that his shooting is spotty. He only earned 10 points despite being on the floor in all but five minutes of yesterday’s game because he shot 29 percent from the field … and his field was rarely more than 12 feet from the basket. Also, he’s not much of a shot blocker or distributor (3 assists/0 blocks in his last 104 minutes on the court). Having said that, I’m going to now ignore what I just said and tell you to take a strong look at Monroe despite his flaws. He’s a .446 shooter, who went from .354 in November to .515 in December. He’s a kid, kids are inexperienced. They still compliment girls on their “awesome boobs.” Give ’em time. Let ’em learn from their mistakes. Additionally, he plays for a team with little to lose by letting him bump around for 30-40 minutes at a time. He’s Detroit’s future, not Ben Wallace, not Jason Maxiell, not Chris Wilcox . I feel like repeating that sentiment in Mark Wahlberg’s overdone Boston accent from ‘The Fighter’: It’s Monroe on that court. Nawt you. Nawt you. And nawt you! Unlike a lot of rookies who aren’t necessary in their roster’s game plan at the moment, Monroe is the game plan. And it’s just now starting to form. Even if Troy Murphy lands on this squad, Monroe will get work. He’s increased his workload from 18 mpg to 22 to 32. Keep them Pistons pumpin’.
Here’s what else went down Monday night in fantasy basketball:
Richard Hamilton – 0-for-5 in 22 reserve minutes. So … good luck with that New Jersey!
Austin Daye – Started 6-for-6 from the floor and everyone was all, where the heck has this guy been all season? He went 0-for-4 in the second half and everyone was all, Oh, yeah. I forgot. Still, he’s shot over .600 from the floor in the last two games and averaged 14.5/5 with 2.5 treys in 24+ mpg in that span. Could be something, could be nothing.
Ben Wallace – Tweaked his ankle during the opening tip and didn’t return. Oddly, the Pistons played well for two-and-half quarters despite losing their broken down, undersized, 36-year-old center. Quelle surprise!
Chris Wilcox – 13/9 in 22 minutes for the Pistons and he’s played 23, 27, 13 and 22 minutes in his last four games. He could see a bump in minutes if no trades happen in the next few weeks and Wallace’s injury is more serious. If it happens, he’s a solid source for 13/8 and a block. Call him Chris Wilblox. Or don’t.
Taj Gibson – Chicagoland’s favorite blues trumpeter asploded for 16/14 a week ago and followed it up with 21/16. Unfortunately, that 21/16 was divided over a period of four games. Even Taj thinks you can do better than Taj right now.
Tyrus Thomas – Played well for 17 minutes (6/8 with four blocks) but amassed six fouls in that time. Which I guess means he didn’t actually play all that well.
Rudy Gay – 5-for-16 in 40 minutes. Five rebounds, three turnovers, got stuffed by Tyrus Thomas three times in the first quarter. Woof.
O.J. Mayo – 4/3/1 in 21 minutes. No J shot 1-for-8 from the floor. His frustration mounted after the game when he couldn’t even unwind by losing at a card game and getting punched in the eye.
Tony Allen – He’s been relatively up and down since taking over the starting SG position. He’s scored in double-digits in five of his seven starts, but has only dropped three treys and no more than four dimes over that span.
Marquis Daniels – Season-best 19/7 with two steals as he was immediately reminded of his good ol’ days in Indianapolis. His good ol’ days in Indianapolis, by the way, were the ones after he found out he had been picked up by the Celtics.
Patrick Patterson – 10/4/4 and a block in 17 minutes. One of the better games in PaPa’s short career. I’d look elsewhere until he strings together a few similar games. To be clear, I mean similar productive games.
Aaron Brooks – Nice return to the starting lineup. give him another game or two to convince you he’s getting healthier before burning a Games Played on him.
Brad Miller – Sore knee. Jordan Hill‘s 12/8 and a block is about the most you can expect as Miller’s replacement.
Kevin Martin – Feeling a little limp-wristed last night. He took a bubble bath, played his favorite Ani Di Franco album wistfully in the background and ended his night curled up with a Wally Lamb novel. He writes the way women think! He says he’ll be fine for his next game, despite the shooter suffering a sprained shooting wrist.
