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Van Gundy: Monroe, Drummond Ideal Pairing
Here’s how (Pistons head coach and team president Stan) Van Gundy responded when I asked him if he views a (Greg) Monroe-(Andre) Drummond combination as either (a) something that should give the Pistons an advantage nine games out of 10 at the offensive end or (b) not an ideal pairing, maybe, but one he can make work:
“I think it is an ideal pairing,” he said. “If I look at just the film I’ve watched now and looking at the numbers, you would say that Greg and Andre together were great offensively. That was a great combination on the offensive end of the floor, especially when the three guys around them were shooters – more conventional perimeter types. That worked very, very well. Now, it didn’t work very well defensively. I think it puts a lot of responsibility on Greg Monroe to have to guard out on the perimeter. But I think there are things we can do in terms of schemes and things that would make it a little easier on Greg to make that unit better defensively and then take advantage of the offensive end of the floor.”
Derrick Rose left the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 116-97 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday with a sprained left ankle stemming from a hit by Bucks center Greg Monroe that the former MVP said should have been called a flagrant foul.
“I think I’m the only person in the league that’s not getting a flagrant for that call, bro,” Rose said after scoring 12 points in 23 minutes before exiting the game for good with 10:12 remaining in the fourth quarter. “Come on, man. Like, I’m sure I’m the only player, but it is what it is. … That’s a common foul. Wow. Come on.”
Source: Dave McMenamin of ESPN
Houston Rockets point guard Chris Paul will likely be sidelined two to four weeks while recovering from his bruised left knee, sources confirmed to ESPN.
Sources said the Rockets are calling agents about available point guards. One such point guard is Jameer Nelson, who was released by the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. He has cleared waivers and is now an unrestricted free agent, league sources told ESPN’s Chris Haynes.
Source: Tim MacMahon of ESPN
It appeared a fitting beginning to Carmelo Anthony’s next chapter, a 3-pointer on his first possession with the Thunder, playing against his former team. Then he missed his next seven shots.
Like the rest of the Thunder, it was a slow burn as Anthony revved up in the second quarter and into the third, scoring 22 on 8-of-20 shooting in a 105-84 win over the Knicks on opening night. In their first regular-season game, there were some rough patches for the Thunder’s new big three, with Paul George missing a number of open looks and Anthony going cold at times, but in the end, talent prevailed. George finished with 28 on 9-of-23 shooting, and Russell Westbrook picked right up where he left off in his historic MVP season notching the first triple-double of this season with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 16 assists.
Source: Royce Young of ESPN
