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Andre Drummond’s 2017-18 season outlook for the Pistons

By Duncan Smith

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - AUGUST 4: Andre Drummond of Team World practices for the 2017 Africa Game as part of the Basketball Without Borders Africa at the Ticketpro Dome on August 4, 2017 in Gauteng province of Johannesburg, South Africa. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - AUGUST 4: Andre Drummond of Team World practices for the 2017 Africa Game as part of the Basketball Without Borders Africa at the Ticketpro Dome on August 4, 2017 in Gauteng province of Johannesburg, South Africa. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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In our series of season outlooks for the players on the 2017-18 Detroit Pistons roster, we’ll run through expectations for each. Next up is Andre Drummond.

Rumors of Andre Drummond‘s sudden and violent regression last season for the Detroit Pistons were exaggerated, but that doesn’t mean he had a good season either. While his per-game numbers dropped across the board, he was actually a bit more productive on a per-minute basis.

Of course, that’s problematic as well, because Drummond played fewer than 30 minutes per game (29.7) for the first time since his rookie season. He was benched for ineffective play multiple times, missed much of a couple of games with injuries suffered in-game and got ejected in the second quarter of a game against the Charlotte Hornets after committing an uncharacteristic flagrant-2 foul for cracking Roy Hibbert in the back of the head with an elbow.

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There’s a prevailing belief that his minutes dropped so significantly because he was playing fewer fourth quarter minutes due to his free throw issues (he hit 38.8 percent from the line last year), but that’s also false. He played slightly more in fourth quarters last year, at 6.7 minutes per game than he did in his breakout 2015-16 season, when he played 6.6 fourth quarter minutes.

Whether he declined, plateaued or marginally improved (which is closer to the truth), it wasn’t a season to be proud of and he knows it. He’s spent this summer working, and the most important thing he did was get his deviated septum repaired. Our Shameek Mohile goes into depth on how that will impact him (it’s required reading if you’re a Detroit Pistons fan), but needless to say, a high-level athlete who is intaking half as much oxygen as he should might appear to have low energy and a poor motor, both long-running complaints about Drummond.

He’s dropped about 20 lbs, and he looks much sleeker and more fit, possibly because he can put more effort into his training. He’s said all the right things about taking responsibility for his team’s failures last season, and hopefully he takes steps to improve upon all of them.

Drummond’s awareness levels may be something that can’t be improved with more oxygen. Entering his sixth season, and his fourth with Stan Van Gundy, he may be a finished product from the that perspective.

Drummond also needs to complete his recasting away from being an offensive focal point. His usage dropped from 24.1 percent two seasons ago to 22.4 last season and dropped into the high teens in the last two months of the 2016-17 season. Considering the number of low-efficiency possessions he gets, primarily in the post, the worst of these should be the first to go. Long-range post ups are never the solution, but they’re a high-volume terrible option for Drummond.

Next: Reggie Jackson's season outlook for the Pistons

Hopefully the Detroit Pistons’ offense can go away from using Drummond in the post on more than 27 percent of his possessions and modernize their approach with more action and motion.

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