Blakely


Nazr's not happy

Nazr Mohammed is not a trouble-maker. He's a quiet, low-key kind of guy whose demeanor fits in well with this Detroit Pistons team.

But there is something very wrong right now, something that could easily blow up in Detroit's face if it's not corrected.

Detroit wants to keep on winning.

Mohammed wants to play more.

Both sides are trying to find a happy medium between the two, with inconsistent results on both fronts.

After winning two of its first three games, Detroit went on to lose four of its next five only to bounce back with a pair of wins.

Meanwhile, Mohammed's playing time is like flipping a coin -- some nights he heads to the court often, others his tail is nailed to the bench.

Consider this:
He played 29 minutes in Detroit's season-opening loss to Milwaukee. Mohammed didn't have a great game, but eight points, 12 rebounds and a blocked shot isn't too shabby, either.

Since then, his minutes have ranged from a low of 12 (vs. Golden State), to no more than 27 (vs. New Orleans/Oklahoma City).

You look around the NBA, and you'll be hard-pressed to find another starter whose minutes fluctuate as much.

I give Nazr a lot of credit.

He's saying all the right things now, talking about how Pistons coach Flip Saunders is still trying to find different combinations to play, and how Saunders and the rest of the players, are still learning what he can and can not do.

But the more you watch this team, the more you get the sense that Mohammed is going to have a lot more of those 14-minute games like the one he had on Saturday against Houston.

And his frustration when Saunders took him out in the third quarter with four fouls - and never went back to him - told the story.

He picked up his fourth foul less than a minute into the third quarter, and Saunders had ideas of taking him out then.

But Saunders let him play for a couple more minutes, and it worked out well. During that time, Nazr grabbed four offensive rebounds and was clearly outhustling a huffin' and puffin' Yao Ming.

It was a breakout moment for Nazr, which more than anything else, is why he was so upset when he got yanked. He understood why Saunders made the decision.

That doesn't mean he has to like it, which obviously, he didn't.

Again, it's not a major problem now. But based on Mohammed's tone following Saturday's victory, you have to wonder how much longer is he going to put up with having his minutes yanked around like a yo-yo?

If we win he'll be happy.

If we lose he'll wanna know why he's not playing.

I think that's fair, since every player wants to play more and have a bigger role.

It's up to the Coach to treat him with respect, explain how valuable he is no matter how many minutes he plays and encourage the guy.

I just vant to play.

J/K

Maybe this is a good thing.
Whenever Ben was unhappy we came through and killed our opponets for a couple weeks.

hard to believe a player doesn't understand Flip's rotation...

LOL@Nazr. stfu pisshead. Ben earned the status to complain about playing time and bust his ass to to prove he wanted it the very next night. Nazr hasn't. On top of that his bitching is more personal and will not inspire the team. but it better inspire him or imma be hoping he gets less time.


for the record he did this whiny garbage in SA too. him and rasho bitched when the other got more time. part of why one of them had to go.

Why does it seem that this team is going to fall apart by the all-star break.

Welcome to the club Nazr. We call it the "Flip's rotations make no fucking sense whatsoever and are complete bullshit" club.

We offer complimentary flip-flops and pills to cure chronic twitches.

Nazr should embrace the school of STFU -- Stop The Fouling University! 3.2 fouls per 20 mpg means Flip won't consistently give Nazr big minutes even if he wants it. Nazr's got to cut the fouling crap out, and the playing time will take care of itself.

someone should have mentioned to joe that nazr is a fouling machine BEFORE he gave him 30 million dollars.

if nazr is unhappy, i'd be more than willing to anul the contract.

:lathamjahnke:

NO FRUSTRATION: When Nazr Mohammed left Saturday's game in the third quarter, he did not hide his frustration. He had picked up four fouls and didn't look forward to spending extended time on the bench. But while his time so far this season has fluctuated between 14 and 29 minutes, Mohammed said he's not frustrated.

"I'm not frustrated in the least bit," he said. "Right now I'm just trying to think about winning, finding ways to win some games. We're only 5-5, we've got a long way to go, so I'm not frustrated."

Wow, actual quotes in the "story". Silly young reporters and their idealistic belief that you should actually have something to write about before you write about something.

:mccosky:


Mohammed sees minutes dwindle

Chris McCosky / The Detroit News

The Pistons' initial intent when they signed Nazr Mohammed to a five-year, $30 million contract this summer was to plug him in at the center spot for 30-plus minutes a night.

It hasn't exactly worked out that way. For several reasons, the center spot in the Pistons' lineup has been a group effort. According to coach Flip Saunders , it could be that way all season.

"Yeah, it could be based on Nazr getting into foul trouble so much and teams playing a lot of small-ball around the league," Saunders said. "What we have found out was that when teams go small, we put Rasheed Wallace at center and we have a huge advantage."

Mohammed, who is averaging 19.7 minutes, isn't overly enamored with the reduced role. He doesn't think it will be permanent, but he understands the rationale.

"It's not like I anticipate not playing," he said. "I still prepare every night like I am going to play a full game. We will see what happens. I am still learning and trying to find out where I fit in."

Mohammed, who produced 11 points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes Friday, leads the team with 42 personal fouls, but he disagreed it was the fouls keeping him tied to the bench.

"It's not the fouls," he said. "I have just decided that if I am not going to be out on the court that long, I might as well be aggressive when I am out there. I am not trying to get fouls. Some times the calls are what they are. But I am not worried about fouling. I know I could cut back on those and stay on the floor if I had to. But, for now, I might as well be aggressive."

Saunders has encouraged that approach from Mohammed.

"He's going to play between 20 and 30 minutes depending on the situation," Saunders said. "If he knows that's how long he's going to play, he might as well go out and play hard knowing if he produces, he has a better chance of staying out there."

Besides Wallace, Saunders also has played Antonio McDyess and Dale Davis in at the center spot.

fuck a nazr.

Seriously though, Nazr is in no position to be a bitch, especially with dale davis looking better than expected. He better be worried about keeping pace when Dyess gets into midseason form.

Just in case you didn't hear him the first time.

ROUGH START: Pistons center Mohammed won't gripe -- but he's uncomfortable in new role

December 6, 2006
BY KRISTA JAHNKE

FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER


During warm-ups Sunday night in Charlotte, the Bobcats' arena announcer entertained the crowd with tidbits about that night's opponent, the Pistons.

Something he said gave the Pistons a good chuckle.

"And now at center," the voice boomed, "the Pistons have Nazr Mohammed, who is making everyone say, 'Who needs Ben Wallace, anyway?' "

Let's not go overboard there, fella.

After one month with Mohammed in the starting lineup, it's clear the Pistons miss some parts of Wallace's game. Mohammed has not, as expected, been the defensive presence inside that Wallace was for six years in Detroit. But while the Pistons have vowed not to ask Mohammed to be anything other than himself, the center said Monday he's not comfortable with the role -- that of a role player -- he is being asked to fill.

Sitting on the bench in the fourth quarter and playing 20 minutes a night are not quite what the veteran expected when he signed a $25-million deal in July.

When asked if he was comfortable, Mohammed said, "No, not really. But it doesn't really matter what I'm comfortable with. It's about winning games."

Mohammed, who averaged 7.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 19.6 minutes per game entering Tuesday, fears being labeled a complainer. So he walks a line between publicly expressing desire for more playing time and accepting what coach Flip Saunders calls the "center by committee" philosophy.

Still, Mohammed, a dedicated hard worker, hopes to find a way to increase his role. He's shooting well -- at 54.4, he leads the team in field-goal percentage. But his teammates seem reluctant to go to him because he's prone to turnovers. And if he wants to stay on the floor longer, he must limit fouls. Mohammed averaged a team-high 3.4 fouls per game through the first 17 games.

Saunders said Mohammed could work through both problems by being more aggressive. "I want him to do his dirty work a little bit earlier," Saunders said. "I think he's getting into foul trouble because he's not initiating. He's waiting for contact, anticipating it, and so he's picking up a couple of cheap fouls. I want him to initiate more."

Mohammed said he doesn't see his foul trouble as a barrier to his playing time.

"It doesn't matter when you're only playing so many minutes how many fouls you get," Mohammed said. "... I haven't played in the fourth quarter. So I've got 36 minutes, three quarters, to get six fouls, in my eyes."

But while Mohammed struggles to find his way on the court, he has found comfort off it. He loves the atmosphere in the locker room. And after living in balmy San Antonio, Mohammed is readjusting to cold weather, something he knows well from growing up in Chicago. But overall, he and his wife, Mandy, and their two children have settled fine.

"I can live anywhere," Mohammed said. "Put me in North Dakota, South Dakota ... as long as I've got my family with me, I'm good. I'm here to play basketball. ... As long as there's a couple of good restaurants and a movie theater, me and my wife are good."

And the thing that makes everything easier? Winning.

"I like winning," Mohammed said. "I've been on losing teams, and that is not a good feeling. I'd rather play 20 minutes on a winning team than 30 on a losing team. So I'm not going to sit here and cry about an extra 10 minutes a game."

Contact KRISTA JAHNKE at 313-223-4493 or kjahnke@freepress.com.

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this reminds of the no disrespect thing. "I'm not bitching but ...............Ummm I'm not happy, no sir." Bleh, whatever. we got a crybaby who who isnt even on otis thorpes or Bison Dele's level let alone Ben.

On/off court +/- of the starters:

Chauncey Billups: +15.9
Rip Hamilton: +7.8
Rasheed Wallace: +7.8
Tayshaun Prince: +2.6 (misses Ben the most, sucky when playing PF)
Nazr Mohammed: -5.3 (ranking him right alongside McDyess, actually)

Highest +/- of the team:

Dale Davis: +18.3 (numbers suck, but his D and presence is better)

i still like the signing.

sincerely,

kstat and chris mccosky.

Ya know what bothers me, Nazr's rebounding is up and down too much. He let Flip Murray outrebound him against dallas and honestly Dale Davis should be starting for us at this point. Its obvious that defense is more important than offense at the Center position for us. we have 4 capable potent scorers at 4 positions, i never get why people would complain about the fifth guy. Some teams when love to have that scenario. Either way Davis gets a couple points on the side too. not much more than ben though. But who cares?[smilie=llama_banan:

F@$k Nazr. He needs to put forth a more consistant effort before he will get serious minutes. Like Gutz said his rebounding is mediocre. It seems like he doesn't even try half of the time. He should be boxing out and fighting for position every play but he doesn't. He also doesn't have much of a clue about what helping out on defense is. He should watch some videos of Ben for that. His hands also suck but i'm more worried about his effort. I can't say that signing him was a bad thing but he can do better anbd if he does, he will play more. 'Nuff said.

I'm not too worried about Nazr's rebounding. I'm more worried that he doesn't know (or if he knows, he can't seem to control) when to be passive and when to be aggressive.

My hunch is that Nazr needs a couple of "pet" set plays, much like Ben had -- think "Rip to Ben for the dunk". Right now, he's being asked to score just like Ben would, which is to say "sporadically", and I think that hits his discipline on the court. Get him into the offense, and his overall game gets consistent.

One ray of less hopelessness: I look at his foul rate and what strikes me is that he didn't have -as- bad a foul rate playing in Atlanta and New York (apart from the one year in Atlanta where he was injured). Both were teams with younger players and coaches enforcing more fundamentals.

Daily Dime


Joel (San Diego): Is it time for the pistons to start Dale Davis? There is a reason why Greg Popovich bench Nazr Mohammed in the playoffs last season.

John Hollinger: Actually, I've though Mohammed has played fairly well when he's been on the court and I don't get why Flip has been so quick with the hook. It's not like Davis and McDyess are burning it up out there either.

Hollinger likes him? That's the kiss of death.

Hollinger sees that he has a PER of 17.5, so he's slightly better than Rasheed with a PER of 17.3. :)