Fast Five with Greg Monroe

1. At age 21, you have already become the Pistons' top scorer (17.2), top rebounder (9.1) and one of their best passers, ranking third among NBA centers with 2.8 assists per game. You've become the go-to, do-everything player, huh?

“That’s something I’ve always tried doing. Do whatever I can to help my team. When you look at the stat sheet that’s just me trying to help my team as much as I can.”

2. If you look at a shot chart of all your made baskets last year, only 13 percent came from beyond two feet. Now 30 percent of them are beyond that range, with baskets going out to the 10-15 and 16-23 foot range. What happened?

“This summer I worked on my shot and made sure I developed the mid-range shot consistently, so that gave me more options when I’m in the post. That mixes things up, not just limiting me to do one thing.”

3. Your post-up D is noticeably improved too.

“That’s just effort and work, learning different tricks and learning good technique. Good post defense is mostly good technique and I think I just got better at the technique.”

4. Still, the pick-and-roll defense is something you're always learning, right? Are Ben Wallace and Tayshaun Prince helping you along with that?

“That’s probably the hardest to guard in basketball. That’s why everybody runs it. You’ve got older guys who have been great defenders their whole careers, so it’s a big help having those guys. You just have to make sure your timing is right, make sure you’re there, make sure you deflect the ball anyway you can.”

5. You've got some 2004 NBA champs on your 2012 team (Prince and Wallace) and you've got a lot of young players too. What's it gonna take for Detroit to become a playoff team again?

“We just have to continue to get better. Everybody has to stay on the same page. Everybody has to give a maximum effort every game. And everybody has to understand their role. The more time we spend with Coach [Lawrence] Frank as he puts in his style of offense and defense, the better we’ll be."