The Detroit Pistons' Greg Monroe, right, looks to pass as the Atlanta Hawks' Josh Powell defends in preseason action Monday night. AUBURN HILLS -- It takes time for a college basketball star to become a consistent contributor at the NBA level.
So far, it appears Detroit Pistons rookie Greg Monroe is a fast learner.
Monroe had 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists Monday night as the Pistons claimed a 94-85 preseason victory against the Atlanta Hawks.
"Greg Monroe is becoming a man in our league," Pistons coach John Kuester said. "He's going to have slippage, but he's going to be a very nice player in this league."
Monroe has shown flashes of greatness on the offensive end, but he needs to work to improve defensively and had five of the Pistons' 15 turnovers Monday night.
He knows he still has plenty of room to grow.
"It doesn't matter where I'm at, when you come into the league, you have to get better at every aspect," Monroe said. "I'm just trying to work on everything in my game."
Rodney Stuckey also had his best game of the preseason. He finished with 16 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals.
Stuckey and Ben Gordon started in the backcourt, and neither committed a turnover. Richard Hamilton scored just seven points but had seven assists and just one turnover.
The Pistons, 2-1 in preseason play, averaged 19.5 turnovers in their first two preseason games but took care of the ball better in this outing.
"That's valuing the basketball," Kuester said. "That's very impressive. It starts with your guards, because they're taking care of the basketball a number of times."
Tayshaun Prince continued his steady preseason play with another solid effort and finished with 12 points.
Austin Daye started at power forward and finished with 14 points and four rebounds before fouling out with about a minute remaining.
The Pistons led by double digits after the first quarter for the second consecutive game, then the Hawks closed the gap to three at halftime.
Detroit opened it back up in the third quarter to lead 77-66 heading into the fourth.
THREE POINTS
Some impressions from the Pistons' preseason win against the Atlanta Hawks:
Good start:
The starting lineup continues to change from game to game, but the Pistons got into a good offensive flow in the first quarter for the second consecutive time. Detroit had 30 points in the first quarter against Atlanta just three days after scoring 31 in the first against Milwaukee.
Nice game:
Rodney Stuckey didn't make much of an impact in the first two preseason games but had an impressive outing against the Hawks. He did not turn the ball over in more than 25 minutes against Atlanta and finished with 16 points and four assists.
Mr. Consistency:
As a veteran and a known commodity, Tayshaun Prince is not logging major minutes in the preseason, but he has been the most consistent player for the Pistons in the first three games.