Pistons center Isaiah Stewart, who is under 21, was named to the rookie second team last season, nicknamed "Goulash", the only pure restricted player in the rookie team.
Stewart's height of 206 cm belongs to the low forbidden area, and the explosive and bouncing power are quite mediocre, and can only make up for some height disadvantages with a long arm close to 225 cm. Although the height is not as good as people, but with full energy and hard work, dedication to the fight for rebounds, coupled with the Pistons originally expected that the center is not injured or not to be useless, Stewart Rookie Year not only got a lot of rotation time, but finally got a lot of starting opportunities.
Stewart is a good player that most coaches will love, no matter the practice, the game is full of energy to rush to the end, even if the hard work is done rarely to touch the ball will not complain. Tough and tough, no matter who the opponent is, he is not afraid, is very good at competing for offensive rebounds, and occasionally has a good pace and release in the low position.
After the rookie year's eye-catching performance, Pistons general manager Troy Weaver was very bold to pull Stewart directly to the starter. Even knowing that the new savior Cunningham needed a pie-eating, high-powered long man or a big man who could shoot outside to open up space, Weaver still chose to put the original main center Mason Plumlee to the Hornets, and signed Kelly Olynnick, the captain with the outside line, so that Stewart became the Starting Center of the Pistons from the first game.
The results were not satisfactory, facing the starting level of the penalty area player Stewart could not get too much cheap, the slight increase in average data per game was the result of more playing time, from the perspective of efficiency, all the data were declining compared with last season, and the outside projection that originally seemed to have great development potential did not see too many bright spots.
For other team fans, the biggest memory point is probably the game against the Lakers was injured by James's elbow and the corner of the eye was bleeding, stewart's whole big crazy like a wild bull who could not hold it, and even wanted to go around the back to enter the other side's bench to seek justice, fortunately, it was finally blocked and did not cause a huge disaster.
The price of the impulse was a two-game ban, but as Pacers top scorer Reggie Miller said, After this game, Stewart made himself the same villain as Charles Oakley, Antonio Davis and other predecessors, and the players never wanted to offend these people. As long as Stewart played in the league one day, even James was not afraid of him, and no one dared to provoke him again, and fierceness became his registered trademark.
It's best to have this kind of thug in the team, and the other party should think twice when they want to give a heavy hand to their Pistons teammates (whether it can be applied to Grayson Allen is not sure).
Just with excellent offensive rebounding ability, in the penalty area willing to fight hard in the low penalty area, will it really be the starting answer to the Pistons' penalty area? Frankly not so optimistic.
The Pistons have played a lot of dynamic offense this season, relying heavily on the judgment of the elders at high positions. Should I slide the ball down or tear it out after passing it? How to decide the timing and route? Stewart's lack of projection ability is a big flaw, the opponent knows that you will not shoot at all if you fake half a day there, but poor judgment is the biggest problem.
Look at the former teammate Mason Plumlee who also belongs to the center without outside line (0 career three-point shots), but Plumley's passing judgment and walking ability make up for the problem of no outside line, not the attack main axis, non-low threat can also have an average of 3 assists per game.
Stewart's threat of holding the ball in the high position is extremely low, there is no projection, no passing, and even the walk will get stuck to his teammates. He is not like his new teammate Marvin Bagley III, who has physical fitness and height, dribbling is ok for the elderly, and can directly kill the ball into the box from a high position; the experienced Kelly Olynyk has a hand on the outside line and cut in, although the judgment is a bit dragging mud and water, but it can still create opportunities.
The high position is completely powerless, resulting in Stewart's biggest role in preparing to pick up teammates' small balls or compete for offensive rebounds in addition to simply playing with his teammates on both sides of the bottom line on the edge of the penalty area. Stewart lacks high-altitude combat capabilities and does not pose an air contact threat near the restricted area, sometimes hindering the attacking space.
Defensively, I personally feel that Stewart has improved, especially after being pulled to the perimeter. Stewart's face to block the pistons when he is on the field is almost directly changing defenses, Stewart's body is large but the lateral ability is good, good at using a pair of long hands to interfere with the opponent, in fact, it is not easy to be cut directly.
The biggest responsibility of the center is to protect the frame, and Stewart, although the number of blocks is not remarkable, can significantly reduce the opponent's shooting percentage. In addition to his arm length, he has a good ability to bounce continuously, and often relies on moves to block the basket and attack strongly. However, the protection of defensive rebounds is still a problem, but fortunately, the Pistons' good rebounding in the backcourt can help some, and it seems acceptable at this stage.
At this stage, it seems that he is a qualified defender, and in the future, as his experience increases, he may judge a little better and get into less foul trouble, but that's about it, at most it's about the average of centers.
Personally, Stewart's second season was disappointing. Even if the shooting is not practiced, the lack of reading defense ability makes the team's offensive often lag. In the face of a higher-level starting penalty area, it is difficult for Stewart, whose congenital conditions are not as good as people, to take advantage of the hard work, and the heavy burden makes the performance not advance and retreat.
The rebounding tough guy who is better than the attack has its value, but at most it is an average defense and a weak offense, which is obviously not the answer to the Pistons' future penalty area. Passing sometimes depends on talent and can't be forced, and no one expected Grizzlies center Steven Adams to be so clever before this season that Stuart could make a difference after accumulating enough experience.
In addition to the obvious reinforcement projection, Stewart needs to strengthen the timing of the move, the judgment of the route, although it can not become a threat of air throwing, but at least do not become a teammate roadblock. Limited by mobility, height, and projection, it's not easy to find a no-go zone partner to match Stewart. Having the ability to shoot is a basic condition, and it is best to help conduct so that Stewart can concentrate on mixing under the basket.
The top two favourites for this draft are the tall self-propelled jabbary Smith and the unicorn center Chet Holmgren, whose skill pack is not a problem with Stewart, and the team's perspective is more in line with Cunningham's needs. It depends on how well the Pistons draw, whether they can find high talent and new blood to reduce Stewart's burden and allow him to play to his advantage.
Stewart is not a penalty area answer, but he is a serious player loved by fans, teams, coaches and teammates.