He's rebounding like a monster, blocking shots, playing defense, getting some nice 15-20 points per game so far, SVG seems to try to surround him with shooters and he's not showing the lack of motor that people were worried about. So, do we finally have a true big man with the inside game, defense and rebounding who the Pistons can rely on as a franchise player and anchor in the middle for years to come? * This is no shot at anyone, just that the true big man is dying, even Davis is going to be perimeter oriented so I'm excited about at least one guy doing it. Capela is on his way too so gotta love that! *
I Would say he qualifies as the closest thing to a traditional big man. Anybody that complains about the Warriors small ball and curry shooting ridiculous threes style of play should appreciate the Pistons. I prefer the fast paced, three point shooting style of play and hate 90s ball but to each their own.
I was very high on him entering and leaving college. Honestly his motor was never an issue and effort wasn't either. He just did not have any interest in college or the college lifestyle. Most people enjoy it, but he really didn't and it showed in his time there. You won't hear much negative about him as a person or his ethic. I don't know that I would call him a really good defender yet. All the tools are there but he still has difficulty understanding where to be and what is going on around him. He is the best rebounder in basketball and probably the best pure shot blocker. He has started to show some post scoring with a hook. He needs to improve from the line. One word of caution is Detroit didn't offer him the maximum, and it makes you wonder why.
Dying? It's been DEAD for like 18 years. I do think big men of today are better than the past decade and a half though more offensive than defensive or all around as the greats of the 80s and 90s.
Drummond is fools gold.......unless and until........he can shoot a minimum of 55% from the FT line. Drummond is the poster child for the guy with the perfect body and athleticism to be a hall-of-fame center and a top 10 player of all-time but without the requisite basketball skills to make it happen. He can't post up. He can't shoot. And he fouls when he is pressured defensively. He'll put up monster numbers in the regular season and help his team reach the playoffs. But then when the playoff season swings into full gear his cracks will show and he'll wind up on the bench because he's ineffective in crunch time. Unless Drummond improves his shooting and defensive decision making he'll always disappoint.
He's no Roberto Duenas though. He ruined my childhood. Dude was legit monster back in the day when watching Euroleague as a child.
Tried to tell people about Drummond, some didn't want to listen... I wanted the Rockets to trade up for him in that one draft. He is having a insane year and that's good. Remind the league what a true big can do. That he don't have to stretch the floor but dominate the paint.
You can't dominate the paint and shoot 40% from the FT line. You may be able to dominate the paint in a lot of games but you won't be able to dominate the paint and win a championship shooting 40% from the FT line.
Drummond's the best rebounder in the league, maybe the best finisher in the league, and should be an absolute monster defensively. That said? His post-ups grind the Pistons' offense to a complete halt; he's just terrible on either block. Exacerbating the situation is his complete inability to read double-teams (or just an unwillingness to pass to the open man). It's like he and Valanciunas are competing for the NBA 'Black Hole' Award (knock yourself out, Carl).
Drummond is a beast...and is just 22 years old. Now, I dont think he can be a franchise player right now, simply because he doesnt have an offensive game at all. But for people to dismiss him and call him fools gold is about the dumbest thing Ive heard. He has all the things you cant teach: size, energy, mobility, rebounding desire. The things he is lacking in he can and should improve upon, though thats entirely up to him.
You cannot win a championship in today's NBA when your premier big man who is the primary finisher for your team in the pick-and-roll shooting 40% at the FT line. He may indeed be a "beast" of a player. He may average 25/15 for the season. But......when it comes playoff time that 25/15 is going to be parked on the bench because teams are simply too smart to let the man finish plays. They'll funnel the ball to him and put him on the line continuously thereby dissapating the efficiency of possession after possession until Van Gundy has to bench him. There goes your rebounding advantage. There goes the high efficiency finishes. That's why he's fools gold. He's a huge offensive liability when it matters most. On top of that he's a poor defensive decision maker. A team cannot really win anything beyond regular season games with their premier big man roller/finisher shooting 40% from the free throw line.
He is significantly worse than Dwight posting up. And he simply does not have Dwight's defensive instincts. Nor will he ever have it. Empty stats man.
I disagree there. Teams don't have enough fouls to give and putting in lesser players to foul the player in question still means you are playing a lesser player. Even with the Rockets and all the horrible FT shooters they had last year it still wasn't enough to stop them from getting to the WCF. The Hack-A-X has never really stopped anything. All it does as Shaq would tell you is give the other team a extra possession but IF the player you are hacking is capable of owning the paint like Drummond is then he's capable of negating such possessions.
Players can certainly improve on defensive IQ. Defensive instincts are twitch reactions, jumping at the right time for blocks. Which he certainly has. If you are going to say you can't defensively improve in that area then we should just trade Harrell and Capela right now. Dmo has certainly improved in that area as does pretty much every player. Defensive smarts... That certainly gets better with age especially as he gets more experience guarding his peers. I'm not sure how they are empty when his team is 4-1 and 4th in Opp PPG.
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