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Andre Drummond among Zach Lowe’s most intriguing players

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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Zach Lowe dived deep on the Detroit Pistons back in February. Many of the prevalent issues then remain unresolved, including those of Andre Drummond, one of Lowe’s most intriguing players this season.

Much of the Detroit Pistons fortunes, both this season and in the future, rest on Andre Drummond‘s shoulders. He’s talented with a nearly unmatched athletic ceiling, but he’s also enigmatic and his effort is often wanting.

Zach Lowe wrote extensively about the Pistons (and Drummond) back in February, and many of the concerns he had then still linger. Chief among them are Drummond’s offense, his defense, and his effort. Needless to say, that’s a problematic but fair assessment.

On Friday, Lowe wrote about his most intriguing players for the coming season, and Drummond popped up once again.

"If Drummond insists on posting up, Stan Van Gundy wants him to try facing the basket and blowing by fools instead of belching bricky jump hooks. (Drummond shot a ghastly 41 percent on post-ups last season, per Synergy, and rarely got to the line — perhaps fearful of embarrassing himself there.)"

Indeed, Drummond scores a woeful .734 points per possession from the post, largely thanks to these hopeless hooks and turnaround shots that he’s simply not capable of hitting. He gets to the free throw line just 9.3 percent of the time and the Pistons come away with points just 37.9 percent of the time when he post up.

When Drummond is engaged and at his best defensively, he’s disruptive at the perimeter. Unfortunately, we see far too little of this from him.

Lowe goes into detail:

"On defense, Drummond resisted Van Gundy’s entreaties to venture outside the paint and disrupt pick-and-rolls around the 3-point arc. “There’s a tug of war going on between us,” Van Gundy said then [in February]."

Lowe also explains how Drummond can be of value in spite of his skill set not matching up with what is needed from a modern big man:

"We know what Drummond is on offense, or what he should be: a dive-and-dunk rim-runner who inhales offensive rebounds before the regular humans around him even get off the ground. Those players have value, even in the era of pace-and-space and stretch centers.But a lot of their value has to come on defense, and that is where Drummond regressed. He played with low energy, and often let both his man and the ball slip behind him — leaving the rim naked."

Next: Who is the Pistons' most valuable asset?

Lowe leaves us with a hint of hope, however. The team is optimistic (as are we here at Piston Powered) that his nasal surgery will provide him with more energy, and we’ll see a more active and engaged Andre Drummond in 2017-18. That alone will cure many of the ills that befall both him and the Detroit Pistons.

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