He finished with 29 and 27. He picked up 10 rebounds in the last 6 minutes of play. BBallaholic, bad day to be trashing Drummond. They're 5-1 with Drummond beasting. The Trailblazers were actually up by 4 at that 6 minute mark, then they lost by 17. He's averaging 20/20 for the year.
He's in the league for 4 years now and that was a major deficiency and something he has worked on from the start and no improvement. I don't think it's even fair for him to compare him to Malone. But it can improve a little bit. If it improves a lot, it will be a major surprise and exception to the rule,so I'm not holding my breath. Now I agree wth most things you say but this last sentence is ridiculous. Noah is DONE , dead meat. And you can have multiple first rounders even high picks and not find as good as a player as Drummond is- even with his deficiencies. No. Dwight has much more high bball iq and motor than AD.
I feel like "six games" is less misleading. Such a small sample size that you shouldn't really take too much from it. If I remember correctly Drummond had stretches of games like that before where he was averaging 20/20.
Only response I'll have to say that is Deandre Jordan wasn't Deandre Jordan at 22 either. In fact at that age he too was averaging below .400 FT and 4/5 ppg/rpg. If you compare 22 year old Jordan to 22 year old Drummond it isn't even really close. He'll get there defensively, I'm not sure where the poor work effort is coming from? I've never heard that about him? Any ways, defensive IQ and awareness can be learned. If you look at all the DPOY, look at the age where they actually won it at. Also some of them don't become great defenders until later in their career. See Tony Allen, See Ben Wallace, Bruce Bowen, a long list of players. This excludes players drafted for defense like say Kawhi. The guy is 22 and a Big, it takes some time. Right now though he already is a monster. Despite his poor FT shooting and teams fouling it really hasn't hurt the team at all. Not sure if you saw that Portland game, but those were not trash boards. One time he just snatched it away in mid air from another player. These are Ben Wallace, Rodman type boards. He owns that. That is a HUGE part of the game. Extra possessions on offense and it also means that a team has to shoot a high FG% as going cold against the Pistons means losing possessions. To just poo poo rebounding, a guy getting 20 RPG is a bit much for me. There is a reason his team is 5-1 right now and he's the main reason they are. They are not going to win a championship, not this year and not with that roster...but he's definitely a franchise player.
7 offensive rebounds per game is like giving your team an extra 7-8 points per game alone. Conversion rate on offensive boards and put backs is probably higher than 50%
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ixkX1__-zqk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Also, as you can see here. He actually does have a post game. It's not drop down and go to work but it's not the disaster people make it seem. Especially for a young big. He even had a spin move in there, I imagine if he works at it it will only get better.
i remmeber morey was trying hard to get him at the draft, offered everything but his own family and dumars said no
You're basing this conclusion off of a highlight video? Production-wise, his post-ups have generally yielded bad results. That's just an objective fact.
Nope I'm not, I'm just responding to the idea that he can't develop a post game. I'm saying he can and how many bigs have an advanced post game at 22? He's also been working with Sheed and according to Drummond he knows it's really just about having one go to move and mastering that. So he has the right idea about it. Also the numbers say that this season he actually is a better low post scorer than Dwight. Dwight scores 27% when posting up and Drummond 36%. Maybe those numbers will change through the season, it's such a young season after all so I'll concede that. I'm just saying it's doable for him. The video was just proof that he's capable of having that touch around the rim and the finesse it takes to improve there. They both are bad but honestly at least the Pistons have a reason for giving him those touches as the only way he'll get better at it is in game practice and I'm sure the coach/organization know they aren't in it to win it this year and a playoff birth is the only goal this season for them... With Dwight we already know the guy is bad at it and isn't going to get any better but we still waste possessions on it.
Well...first of all Denadre Jordan is not a DPOY caliber defender. Gratz to Doc and the LA hype machine on their repeated failed attempt to pass him as one but the stats are clear. As is the eye test for anyone who pays close attention. Jordan is not an elite defensive center. But Drummond and Jordan are very different players and Jordan will never develop nor has he ever had the nose for rebounds like Drummond has. They are simply different kind of centers. The motor issues are well known , just ask any Piston fan. (who is not a blind homer). Drummond in his three years in the league often seems to lose interest , not rush back to defence, look completely lost and aloof and miss defensive rotations. And he did so as well in preseason. Now can a 22 y.o with the proper coach be motivated enough to turn a corner in that regard? YES. But I will remain a skeptic until I see this for at least half a year. What bballholic said about him not being a franchise player I completely disagree with tho. He is clearly a franchise player that can become a superstar. But he has a long way to go if he wants to be a winner in this league. And his obstacles are not easy to overcome. Because when it comes to some things like understanding defences , age is a number. What matters is years in the league- experience!. And he is in his 4rth year and so far he hasn't shown much of improvement .(still early to deduce from 6 games imho). Maybe he breaks all records and becomes from a player who hasn't any idea where he's at to a DPOY but he will be the only one who does this. If you saw Bogut's rookie year he had superb defensive insticts. Same with Dwight , same even with Gobert. And esp for the center, who is the leader and backbone of the defence, lack of defensive feeling is even more obvious and crucial than for a wing or a forward. I for one even if the Pistons are in the same division as my team, am glad to see a big man take a step forward. Now with this new fad you have everyone wanting to play "small" and become a jumpshooter. The center position has become "passe" and almost useless in the playoffs. No. That was only because the centers were UNABLE to take advantage of the mismatches and abuse their smaller opponents. It was a lack of skill not a uselessness of a position. But there are many good young up and coming centers in the league now. Hopefully they will reverse this situation. Tomorrow is GSW vs Detroit. Does anyone think taht GSW will dare to put 6'6 Green on Drummond? One game doesnt' mean anything. I have watched both that game and other Drummond's game. First of all Portland's "centers" are a travesty. Leonard and Plumps. Esp Leonard is infuriating. And Drummond managed to make almost everything. But 3 years +5 games >>> 1 game. The idea that developing a post game is extremely hard to do is not some lame excuse or a lie. It is well documented over the years. Some can do it, but they are a few. Until I see it in a consistent basis from Drummond against legit opposition and not "what is defence" Leonard or "I have a peanut brain" Plumplee I will not be convinced.
I'll jump in here. I watch almost every Pistons game I can (I'm from Detroit) so I feel pretty qualified to comment on Drummond. His post game is certainly not there but as a few of pointed out it has the potential to develop. He's a great athlete and very fluid with his moves when he gets under control. Working with Sheed has helped a lot (if I was Detroit I would send him to work with Hakeem as well for the next few summers). Thing is he got by with being a great athlete his entire career. Now he's learning how to play the game. That goes for defense as well. For those saying he doesn't have a good work ethic (now) that couldn't be further from the truth. Kid works very hard. Even puts in extra time and definitely wants to be elite. At 22 he's already the best rebounder in the game. Give him a couple years and just watch. He's going to be special.
Thats why I said Drummond does NOT need to be THE MAN. That he just needs to GET THEM THERE into postseason THEN have OTHER PLAYERS for strategic options (Such as Iguodala & David Lee filling in for Bogut) I didnt say to ride Drummond's back Shaq-style into a title. Its about being aware of deficiencies and having versatility in place.
So Drummond is fools gold and the Sixers are benching Canaan because he can win them 30 games all by himself. WHAT GOES ON IN THE MIND OF BASKETBALLHOLIC?
Yeah. It's not convenient to tell the truth about a player when he's having a good stretch of games in the regular season. But....you cannot win a championship when your premier roller/finisher shoots 40% at the FT line. Until that FT% improves to 55% or above he's fool's gold. I said earlier, he'll have plenty of monster games and monster stat lines during the course of the regular season. And he'll be a huge reason why his team makes the playoffs. But when it gets down to money time...he'll have to be on the bench unless he can improve his FT%. Which means for his team to win a championship they've got to do it without him when it matters most. 1. DeAndre is, at best, the 3rd best player on his team even today. 2. DeAndre hasn't won a championship. 3. if DeAndre does win a championship, it will be with him in the 3rd best player on his team role. Lots of assumptions here. Yes, you can improve iq and awareness with experience and teaching. But you can only marginally improve response times. You can't win a championship with your premier roller/finisher shooting 40% at the FT line. Yeah.....I don't know who poo pooed rebounding. But it wasn't me. I totally understand the benefits of rebounding. It is a huge key to winning a championship. Huge. But.........you can't rebound when you're sitting on the bench because when you get in the game the opponent fouls you and puts you on the FT line where you only knock down 40% of your FTs. Rebounding means zilch when you're on the bench. Offensive rebounds....just foul him and stick him on the FT line. Agreed. He's a huge part of that team. He is their franchise player. But as long as he shoots 40% from the FT line as their franchise player...he's fools gold. Because they can't win a championship with him being their franchise player and shooting 40% at the FT line. Now, if the Pistons acquire another superstar that becomes their franchise player and Drummond becomes their 3rd best player....then they've got a chance. But that speaks to him being a franchise player. Oh.....and if he gets his FT% up to a minimum of 55% or higher....then he could become a true franchise player that is capable of carrying his team to a championship provided he has the right role players around him and RJ. But right now...he's not. He's a 40% career FT shooter. And he's in his 4th season getting ready to sign a super max deal next summer. FT shooting is a fundamental fundamental. If players cannot improve their FT shooting after 4 offseasons....from abysmal levels....the odds are they never will. Drummond is facing gargantuan odds at this point in his career that he'll ever top 55%. His motor issues are going to be covered up this year since he's in a contract year. He'll work hard for now. The problem is you don't know what he's going to do long term. NBA history is chock full of guys that had great 4th year seasons, then got their money, then digressed to mediocrity. Yeah....except I didn't say that. I said he was fool's gold. This is what I said. But Bogut is not a franchise player even though he is at 56% from the FT line for his career. Once again.................40% from the FT line is ABYSMAL! A player cannot shoot 40% from the FT line and be the primary roller/finisher to his team's offense and that team win a championship. Won't happen. The primary skill that is lacking is the ability to shoot free throws efficiently. This phenomena hinders the affectiveness of known defensive/rebounding forces like Dwight and DeAndre. And Drummond is a much worse FT shooter than they are. Yeah, I'm pretty sure GS is gonna keep rolling the way they roll. You'll see Draymond out there at the 5 in their small-ball lineup. Portland sent Drummond to the FT line 3 times. He was 1 for 6. They shoulda had him up there 25 times. But Portland is going to the lottery. Detroit doesn't have anybody better than Drummond. So they won't be able to win a championship with Drummond "getting them there". Like I said...he's fools gold when it comes to winning a championship. You cannot build around Drummond and expect to win a championship with Drummond shooting 40% from the FT line and being a subpar defender. You can take Drummond and use him as one of the primary pieces to build a championship team around another player. Drummond could possibly be the second best player on a championship team. But until he gets his FT% to/above 55% then you can't win a championship with him as your primary roller/finisher in a pick-and-roll offense.
Dwight is wayyy past his prime, in Orlando he was a very effective post up player. Just pointing that out. Drummond's got a nice game and is killing it for me in fantasy (lol). Wanna slow down a bit on comparisons to Dwight, he was already winning DPOY and leading his team to the Finals at that age. Dwight was more explosive and better defensively, but Drummond seems to have as good a touch along the rim along with better rebounding skills. He's going to be a top center in the league by the end of the year IMO.
