Isaiah Stewart often gets compared to Ben Wallace, the Detroit Pistons Hall of Fame center and leader of one of their title teams.
This comparison is a bit premature, as Wallace is one of the best rebounders and defenders of all time and Stewart just finished his rookie season.
But the two do share some similarities, as Stewart, like Wallace, is a hardworking defender with an endless motor who can block shots and grab boards.
Their games aren’t identical though, as Stewart has already shown more of an offensive bag than Wallace ever had, and his best-case scenario may be closer to Bam Adebayo than Big Ben.
But there is plenty Isaiah Stewart can learn from Ben Wallace, especially in one area that happens to be one of Beef Stew’s biggest weaknesses.
Detroit Pistons: Isaiah Stewart need to learn how to defend without fouling
One area where Ben Wallace was masterful was playing physical defense without picking up fouls. Big Ben could guard everyone from Shaq to Alonzo Mourning in the paint and then switch out on guys like Kobe Bryant, all without drawing many fouls.
Here he is just one short example of Wallace using his body to defend the post without fouling.
Part of this was because players were allowed to be more physical in his era, but mostly it was that Big Ben had otherworldly body control and athleticism that allowed him to make aggressive plays without hacking.
Wallace averaged just 1.9 fouls per game for his career while playing an average of 29.5 minutes per game. Some seasons he was playing closer to 40 minutes per game and still never averaged more than 2.5 fouls.
Isaiah Stewart, on the other hand, averaged 2.7 fouls per game in his rookie season while playing just 21.4 minutes per game.
This is a concern, as the Detroit Pistons are counting on Stewart to play a bigger role this season, but he won’t be able to if he is on the bench with foul trouble.
Stewart averages a eye-popping 4.6 fouls per-36 minutes, exactly double what Ben Wallace averaged per-36 for his career.
Isaiah Stewart has to be better about controlling his fouls while still being aggressive. I suggest he watch some film of Big Ben, who was masterful at using his body and being aggressive without picking up fouls.