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Nazr Mohammed is the only true center on the Pistons roster heading into training camp.
Rocky Widner (NBAE/Getty)
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Joe Dumars knew he wasn’t replacing Ben Wallace’s numbers or contributions when he responded to Wallace’s free-agent defection in July 2006 by signing Nazr Mohammed. He figured he was adding another big body to a frontcourt that would plug Big Ben’s void by committee.
And for the first two months of the season, Mohammed was producing at right about the level Dumars expected. Through 33 starts, Mohammed gave the Pistons 7.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 19.6 minutes a night. Then Chris Webber fell into the Pistons’ lap, a possibility too tantalizing to ignore.
Mohammed not only fell from the starting lineup, but from the rotation altogether. In the 46 games that remained after Webber joined the team, Mohammed didn’t leave the bench in 31 of them, reaching double digits in minutes played only twice, once in the last home game of the season when Flip Saunders rested many key players.
Mohammed enters training camp fighting for minutes again. Though he’s the only true center on the roster, a changing NBA and the fact the Pistons have four players commanding minutes whose natural position is power forward – Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess, Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson – means it’s possible the Pistons will quite frequently be playing without a natural center.
Here’s a look at the center position for the 2007-08 Pistons entering camp, where the possibility exists that a surprise starter – Antonio McDyess – could emerge during training camp:
One intriguing possibility for Flip Saunders would be to start Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess – his two best and most reliable big men – and then determine the rotation behind them based partly on performance but partly on matchups for any given night.
Against certain Eastern Conference teams that feature low-post threats – Miami, New York and Cleveland, foremost – Mohammed figures to be an important piece of the puzzle.
Working in his favor is the fact that despite little prospect of working his way back into the mix late last season and throughout the playoffs, Mohammed maintained a positive outlook, always staying after practice to work on his game and his conditioning.
Though the Pistons’ offense was often stagnant early last season, Dumars always expected there would be a transition period before Mohammed and the four core Pistons who’d been through so much together would mesh instinctively. That process never got the chance to play itself out once Webber joined the mix.
Dumars and his staff never second-guessed themselves for the Mohammed signing and showed faith in him over the off-season by allowing Webber and Dale Davis to sit idly in free agency. His production last year was in line with expectations, despite public perception to the contrary. Because both sides handled an awkward situation gracefully, there’s no reason to think Mohammed can’t be reintegrated into the rotation.
The risks to playing Wallace – a terrific post defender – against guys like Shaquille O’Neal and Eddy Curry are exposing him to foul trouble and fatigue. But it’s likely that the Pistons are going to take pains to limit his minutes to around 30 a game this season, down slightly from the 32.3 he averaged last season. Combine that with his savvy and the Pistons should be able to count on having him fresh and free of foul trouble at the end of most games.
On the other end, pairing Wallace up front with live bodies like Maxiell or Johnson will cause some matchup difficulties for the opposition, as well.
McDyess is a very active and somewhat unorthodox post defender, but he’s proven very effective over the years. The Pistons might have to ask him to play more minutes than the 21 or 22 he’s been accustomed to getting since joining the team, but not by much. He’s going to pick up more fouls as an undersized center, but at 25 minutes a game, it should be manageable. And the plus for the Pistons is that with McDyess and Wallace in the starting lineup, the Pistons are going to have two big men who are perfectly comfortable shooting perimeter jumpers, taxing opposing defenses.
Samb is still a very raw player, having picked up the sport just five years ago and playing professionally in Spain the past two years in the second division.
Samb is above average athletically for his size. He runs well, is an instinctive shot blocker and possesses a rare shooting touch. He needs to develop a low-post game. Right now his best weapon on the block is a half-hook. Samb has bulked up to about 235 pounds, adding about 30 pounds since the Pistons acquired him on draft night 2006, but must continue to gain strength in the lower body.
