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RE: Center of Confusion in Celtics Nation
This is a good article. I personally don't think Greg Monroe is an effective center. He just isn't a great defender. He is probably going to be very similar to Horford, just a lefty.
I really like Daniel Theis out of Germany. He plays super hard. Classic hustler, really haven't watched an overwhelming amount of him to know how skilled he is on offense, but definitely noticed the hustle.
Aaron Baynes is probably the only true center. Sure the Greek Freak has posterized him like 6 times this year already, but that is just a side effect of him guarding the rim at all costs.
Do you mean bc he's a center without a lot of blocks? Or do you mean that from a different perspective?
One thing to consider with Monroe, is he really isn't a stat-grabbing highlight-reel-chasing shot-blocker; he moreso gets in passing lanes and disrupts offensive flow. He doesn't get a stat for that, much like Sixers Covington doesn't get enough credit for all the deflections he gets every game (eats shot clock, lowers confidence of offensive players). But he actually IS elite in steals, for a center, which is very rare and one of the reasons we're really high on Nance and Nerlens Noel (and think only SOME GMs have figured this out). We'd like to compare Monroe's defense to Kristaps Porzingis. Everyone in NY think Shtapps is a great defender bc he makes highlight reel blocks, but in reality he's pretty awkward under the basket. A GOOD center has their way with him, plus he spends more time thinking about offense (like all players on the Knicks??) so not as much energy gets put into the defensive side.
Anyway, you've sparked our curiosity on perception of Monroe's defense, he's no Nance or Nerlens or Gobert, but he does make up for the lesser defense with hidden stats and more importantly a better offensive game where he's pretty choosy on his shot selection. This doesn't just show itself in the TS% numbers, but also in the Assist% where he's to 20% of the league and Ainge just got him as a BACKUP on really cheap money.
Our main point, is just that Ainge is finding value in the rest of the leagues throwaways. Baynes, Monroe, Theis all overlooked.