I know I'll get flamed, but hear me out. The guy has been nothing short of spectacular for Detroit this season. I think he will make a strong push for ROY if given more minutes. I also wouldn't be shocked to see Monroe traded in the very near future. Rebounds- Drummond is 1st in the league among centers in Rbs per 48. He is also one of only 4 Centers in the league to average over 17 Rbs per 48 minutes. The other three are Camby, Asik, and Hickson. Drummond leads all Centers in Rebounds per 48 with 17.9. Blocks- Drummond is 5th among centers in Blocks per 48, with 3.94. The only Centers averaging more are Sanders, Hibbert, Stiemsma, and Mcgee. Steals-Drummond is 2nd in the league among Centers in Steals per 48, with 2.12. Only Cousins gets more steals per 48, with 2.15. Double-Doubles- Drummond has had 7 double-doubles in less than 20 minutes per game. Only 6 other Centers have more double doubles this season while playing less than 30 minutes. These players are Asik, Hickson, Sanders, Lopez, Hibbert and Okafor. None of these players get less than 24 minutes per game. Field Goal Percentage- Though he doesn't qualify due to lack of minutes, Drummond is shooting over 61% from the field, trailing only Tyson Chandler. Technically, Greg Smith would be 2nd at 65%, but Drummond is much closer to actually qualifying if given more minutes. The truth is I haven't actually ever seen this guy play, so I could be way off, but based on the numbers he is putting up, age, minutes and NBA experience, he might just be the most complete defensive Center in the League if given minutes. Of course Dwight is considered better, but he isn't leading his team on offense, and I'm not conviced he's a better defender. Dwight is considered the best because of his D. Thoughts? Sorry in advance if my numbers are flawed.
Guy is averaging 20mpg, he's a rookie who is still very raw. Great stats but per 48 on this guy probably would equal actual output. Idk if maybe people aren't guarding him since he's the 4th option when on the floor. Definitely not best center in the league, but still a very nice prospect. Gotta let him mature
No way based off what he's done. You can't be the best anything if you're playing less than half the game. I'm a huge Drummond fan and was hoping the Rockets would be able to move up and get him. With that said a player's performance could easily drop down if given more minutes. Maybe one day he'll be the best but to say he's the best now is insane. Also kinda weird to bring this up if you haven't seen him play. Also strange to suggest if the kid isn't making the all-star team. The guy is still very raw but has a lot of talent and athleticism. Will be interesting to see how he develops.
You are correct that Dwight right now is not the best center in the league....but that title goes to Duncan. And then Marc Gasol. Drummond isn't even close to those two right now.
He has potential to become a great player. But he is no where near the best right now. Maybe one day, but not today
LOL at this thread....that's really all I can say... Best line of thread: "Truth is I haven't actually ever seen this guy play"
Bad practice habits on a bad team with a disciplinarian coach plays a part. And since the Pistons aren't going anywhere, I think it's the right call by Lawrence Frank when you consider the big picture. Turn the kid into a professional now, don't give him anything he doesn't deserve. It might piss off some impatient Pistons fans now, but they very well may be grateful down the road.
Tim Duncan? You mean the guy who has been a Power Forward his entire NBA career? Yeah, he doesn't qualify, because he's not a Center.
This. And I hate the per 48 thing. Anyone who has played real bball knows that the more your minutes go up, the more your production drop (per minutes). And there is a lot that factors into that. More attention paid to you, stamina (getting tired which causes drop), and the more minutes you get, the more you play against the starters not backups. Speaking from experience, I came from football season to basketball season and was only getting about 8 minutes a game. I was still averaging 8ppg, 4rpg, 3apg. Once I started playing the whole game (32 minutes), of course I didn't average 32ppg, 16rbg, and 12apg, but according to the per 32 minute rule I was suppose to. I ended up with 21ppg, 8rpg, and 7apg, still good numbers but no where near the per 32 average.
Some players play better with extended minutes. It could give them time to get into the flow of the game, allow them to "warm up". Also, the more minutes you have, the more consistent your playing time tends to be. That can help some guys. Regarding playing against starters versus backups, I think that's a little overrated. On the defensive side, there's much less of a dropoff between starters and role players than a lot of people think. These are all NBA players with comparable athletic ability. The variance in offensive ability is much greater compared to defensive ability. Basically, what you say may be true for some guys, but I don't think its a hard set rule. If it was, there would be clear-cut, statistical evidence for it, and I've never seen it. As for Drummond, his per-minute numbers are so impressive that I would expect them to "come back to earth" over time. Still, it wouldn't be a tremendous shock if he maintained similar rates playing, say, 10 more minutes a game.
shoot, demo would be averaging around 51 points if you use my new per 96minutes rating I'm going to get going. It's like per 48 but twice the goodness. if he isn't even playing 23 minutes, I'd rather go with the per 36. but back to andre, there is a reason maori coveted him.
As far as I'm concerned, Duncan is a center at this point. Tiago is the one who guards the power forwards these days, not Duncan. At any rate, even if you don't consider him a center, Marc Gasol has been easily better than Howard this season.
Listen guys, I never said Drummond was the best C in the League, I merely asked the question "Is he the best?" I don't think that per 48 is the only stat that matters, I merely presented the stats, it's up to the reader to interpret them. I never said he is currently playing better than any other center. I said based on AGE, PRODUCTION, NBA EXPERIENCE he should be considered among the best Defensive Centers. Hell, I didn't even say he was the best Rookie. One more thing, some posters are saying I lost credibility by saying I haven't seen him play. This fact was presented by me, not to cement my presumed opinion, but to inform readers that I know there is more to the game than just numbers. I even said "I could be way off". A simple "you are way off" response, followed by why, brings far more to the table than pics of a flame suit. Finally, to anyone who has seen all his games, I'm sorry that you have lost 4 days of your life watching the Pistons and their back-ups. The future does look brighter.
