Is Andre’s Drummond recent success sustainable for the Detroit Pistons?

Andre Drummond has been dominant in the last 12 games for the Detroit Pistons. But can he sustain this level of play to end the season?

Andre Drummond wasn’t having the greatest of time playing pre-injury. Many fans were angry with his play and wanted him off the Detroit Pistons so much that they were wiling to give him up for a bag of chips, a soda, and a chocolate bar. They were willing to accept anything that would ship him off to another team.

In fact, in the 12 games before his concussion injury; Andre Drummond averaged 14.1 points per game, 14.2 rebounds per game, 1.9 steals per game, and 1.1 blocks per game on 48.7 percent shooting.

Those are ugly stats. But there are a couple different reasons for his poor play. One of the speculations I have is that an injury to the finger caused Drummond to play so poorly that he would miss wide open dunks and lay-up attempts.  But that is a whole different topic to talk about.

Drummond has been dominating games in the last 12 games. Since returning from his injury; Drummond has averaged 22.4 points per game, 16 rebounds per game, 2.2 steals per game, and 2.2 blocks per game on 65.7 percent shooting.

Not only are these all-star stats; these are superstar-type stats. The Pistons have went 8-4 in the dominant 12 game span. His defense has been on a whole ‘nother level. So much that in the last 7 games, the Pistons are 5th in the league defensively.

He’s also has arguably been the Pistons biggest offensive threat in the last 12 games. Scoring 22.4 points per game on 65.7 percent shooting is almost unstoppable-type stats. No matter what teams are doing against Drummond; he’s been destroying them.

In the 12 game span, the Pistons have a +13.3 net rating when Drummond is ON the floor and a -11.5 net rating when Drummond is OFF the floor.

But the question remains…

Can he sustain this level of play?

It’s highly unlikely that Drummond puts up superstar-like stats for the remainder of the season. He’s an all-star, but he’s not a superstar. His stats are likely to go slightly down from the 12 game stretch that he’s had. But he shouldn’t go back down to the level of play pre-injury. He should continue being dominant for the Pistons barring any injury.

To find out if Drummond can sustain this level of play; we have to figure out how he has been so dominant.

Remember how I talked about his defense being on a whole ‘nother level? His defense has helped spark some of his offense.

His defense has helped spark some of his offense. Drummond reads the Darren Collison bounce pass to Myles Turner and strips him in the passing lane.

Drummond read this play perfectly. He stalked Kevin Knox throughout this whole possession before Knox even touched the ball. His defensive awareness has certainly picked up.

And of course probably the main reason his scoring and efficiency has skyrocketed up; the team is helping Drummond get good-looking and open shots. Langston Galloway does a beautiful job of finding Drummond on this play.

In the month of January, 54.9 percent of Drummond’s field goals made were assisted and 45.1 percent were unassisted.

For comparison, Clint Capela is assited on 80.7 percent of his field goals made. Even Karl-Anthony Towns, who could create for himself, is assisted on 67.7 percent of his field goals made.

Now in the  last 12 games, Drummond has been assisted on 63.3 percent of his field goals made; an 8.4 percent difference.

So yes, if Drummond can continue to do these things for the Pistons; there is a good chance he sustains his dominant play.