Here is how Detroit Pistons big men Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin work together offensively and give themselves the best opportunities.
Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond are the foundation of the Detroit Pistons roster and, just like your house, you want your team to have a strong one. While I admit it is wishful thinking to believe that foundation is strong enough to win a championship, it is my estimation that it is strong enough to build a winning culture.
Those two had a 5.4 net rating when they shared the floor and they were the Pistons duo with the most minutes played in the season. There are few teams with that kind of a pairing, playing that many minutes with such a good rating. That goes to show the potential the team can realize when and if they get the right pieces around them.
Looking at lineup data, this is what you find. The Pistons scored 2.8 more points than their opponents in the 27.5 minutes per game those two shared the floor. The biggest reason was their 2.4 advantage in field goal attempts, shooting those 0.8 percentage points better on average. They managed to hold their own in free throw attempts and turnovers trailing the opposing team slightly.
To get that advantage the Pistons had to collect 1.7 more rebounds, mostly on the offensive glass. They also stuck to Dwane Casey’s shot spectrum, shooting only a small percentage of their points coming from mid-range attempts. They shot 3.4 more 3-point attempts and had a 3.4 better percentage from three than their opponent.
Griffin and Drummond showed from the very first game that they could be a formidable duo. Griffin had been playing with a similar center in DeAndre Jordan for his whole career but Drummond never experienced that kind of gravity or passing ability before from a front court teammate.
When Tobias Harris, a significantly less talented passer, drove to the rim, Drummond would be looking to get the offensive rebound, knowing he would rarely get the dump-off pass. Often times he would even be in the way, posting up, a bad habit instilled in him by Stan Van Gundy’s Orlando offense.
The same habits continued even after Griffin arrived but with every assist he got, his mentality started to change. Griffin’s locker room presence might have been even more important that his on-court performance in that regard. Drummond has matured a lot as a player in the time the alpha dog came to town.
Now more than ever, we see Drummond staying alert, keeping his hands up and repositioning to find the best angle for a pass. He’s also tried his best to stay out of the way on drives even embracing Aron Baynes‘ technique of sealing his defender. Finally.
You can see Griffin’s influence all over his game. And he found in Drummond an even more talented version of Jordan that he can mentor into a better player. He certainly trusts the 26-year-old center and feeds him the ball when he has an advantage over his opponent. He encourages him to get these kinds of opportunities.
Drummond was much more comfortable in the post this year against smaller players. He didn’t fare as well against bigger opposition. But he added the rip through to his arsenal, betting on his speed and size to get by his opponents instead of backing them down and throwing up a hook shot. Drummond is still improving and Griffin is allowing him the space to grow.
So, how do the Pistons stars make life easier for each other? To answer that we need to analyze the advantages they have over their opponents both physically and in skill.