In what seems to be a bounce back season for Detroit Pistons big man, Andre Drummond, there is one statistic of his that stands above the rest.
Coming off an impressive 111-104 victory against the Atlanta Hawks, there is much to be excited about with the Detroit Pistons. Not only have they shown a revamped aggressiveness on defense, but the offense has been humming at an efficient and effective rate.
Now much of that can be attributed to the improved health of Reggie Jackson, the addition of Avery Bradley, a bolstered bench unit, or even the #TolliverEffect, but there is one individual that has been surprisingly overlooked when attributing the Pistons’ success: Andre Drummond.
After undergoing sinus surgery this past offseason, Drummond has begun this season with a renewed purpose and drive that Pistons’ fans haven’t seen since his rookie season in Detroit. Benefiting from the positive effects of the surgery, combined with a passion for winning Drummond has shown more of an effort on the defensive end and completely evolved his offensive game.
During the summer, Stan Van Gundy discussed how Andre Drummond should emulate DeAndre Jordan‘s game, be more active on the court, and focus more on becoming a rim-runner on offense.
"Because he’s already a historically great rebounder and to add to that becoming a great defender and build his game from there and everything to be built around the basket – his pick and rolls, going to the rim, running the floor, all of that.”"
Drummond has accomplished this through reducing his post-ups and getting good position under the rim.
Now you must be wondering…what is this “stat” that Shameek is talking about?
Andre Drummond’s putback frequency has increased by roughly 4 percent (23.1 percent vs. 27.5 percent) and he has improved his points per possession from 1.02 to 1.24.
Why does this matter?
Because Andre Drummond has such good position under the rim and has been snagging offensive boards at a higher rate that previous seasons, he has put himself in better position to put those same rebounds back up for quick buckets. Look at the example below versus the New York Knicks a few weeks ago:
As soon as the Jon Leuer sets to shoot the ball, Andre Drummond’s first instinct is to park himself under the rim. Unlike the Knicks around him, who are merely ball-watching, Drummond is in perfect position to corral the miss and put it back up for a quick and efficient two points.
Drummond’s ability to grab missed shots at a high rate and put them back up for points also allows for shooters on the floor be aggressive when going to the rim, or when putting up shots. In the clip against the Washington Wizards below, Reggie Jackson drives towards the rim very aggressively – pulling Marcin Gortat away from the rim. Although he misses the shot, Drummond is there to clean up the miss for an easy two points.
Capitalizing on his strength of savant-like rebounding and converting it into a sustainable source of offense, Drummond is helping the Pistons win games, as they are winners of eight of their last ten games and are in the driver’s seat in the Eastern Conference.