Vince Ellis

Detroit Free Press

MEMPHIS – There is a rule of thumb when if comes to acceptable fouls for big men, according to Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy.

He actually borrowed it from former NBA scoring wiz Bob McAdoo, who was an assistant under Van Gundy with the Miami Heat.

Fouls with arms high up over the head? Good.

Fouls with arms lowered? Bad.

It's a lesson that needs to get across to Pistons center Andre Drummond, who once again was limited by foul trouble Saturday night in a 95-88 loss at Memphis.

Five fouls limited him to only 20 minutes. His absence directly correlated with former MSU player Zach Randolph's dominant night — 17 points and 22 rebounds (13 offensive).

Van Gundy second-guessed his decision to protect Drummond after he picked up his fourth foul early in the second half.

"Looking back, it was probably a mistake, because it hurt us on rebounding," Van Gundy said. "That's when they started to pound us."

Through the Pistons' 3-7 start, Drummond is averaging 4.3 fouls per game and has been disqualified twice. Josh Smith said after the game that Drummond needs to force teams to shoot over him and not worry about trying to get steals with his arms lowered.

Foul trouble wasn't much of an issue with Drummond for his first two seasons.

But his minutes were limited in his rookie season under former coach Lawrence Frank. And it's quite apparent that a better defensive scheme than the one last season under former coach Maurice Cheeks is asking more of Drummond.

It's possibly putting him in position to commit more fouls.

Tonight: Magic

Matchup: Orlando (4-7) at Pistons (3-7).

Tip-off: 7:30, the Palace.

TV/radio: FSD, WMGC-FM (105.1).

Line: X by X.