Detroit Pistons replay center: How Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond feed off each other

Physical gifts

Their physical gifts alone are hard to match. Few big men have that combination of size, strength, speed and leaping ability in their respective positions. There are even fewer teams that have two guys that can match up to them. And even if they can guard them one on one, can they handle their two man game?

Drummond is one of the strongest players in the game. Only Joel Embiid comes to mind as clearly stronger. But not only is he strong, he is uniquely fast, agile and explosive for a man carrying that type of body. I won’t go into detail here but I can suggest this piece that better shows what a physical marvel Drummond is. Even against Embiid’s strength, he can absorb the contact and contest with speed and length.

Griffin might not be at his physical peak but he is still either too strong or too fast for the majority of his opponents. Most teams have smaller defenders that can be bullied in the post and on the glass. All the other teams have slow big men that Griffin can beat off the dribble and Drummond can beat as a rim runner.

Take this game for example. A Reggie Jackson and Griffin side pick-and-roll results in a switch. Philly sneakily sends Embiid, their only hope to stop Griffin in the post. Drummond stays active, follows behind and gets the ball with a foot in the paint against Ben Simmons. Despite Philly’s huge lineup, the Pistons found a mismatch.

Drummond consistently outruns similar centers like Clint Capela down the floor, which makes it easier for Griffin to find him as a target and easier for him to finish. He’s near the top of the list of transition opportunities for centers. Centers like DeMarcus Cousins, Embiid and Brook Lopez only surpass him because they can shoot 3-pointers like trailers.

Ironically, only Capela seems to be a legitimately better rim runner but the impact of his teammates should not be discounted here. Watch below as Drummond outruns Capela to finish a lob, then sprints to get back.

Drummond outruns Steven Adams and Jerami Grant has to cover him. So, naturally, Adams is left guarding Griffin who’s coming as a trailer. That rim running ability has created a significant advantage for Griffin who showed exceptional prowess at attacking centers off the dribble. Adding a respectable pull up 3-point shot has helped him tremendously.

In contrast, in most cases, Drummond and Griffin can fairly easily switch matchups without giving up too much. The former’s lateral agility allows him to stay in front of smaller players and contest shots, while the latter has a frame to get defensive rebounds and push the ball in transition, where both thrive.

Watch where Embiid is at the start of this possession. Mike Muscala can’t contest this rebound to save his life and Embiid has to start running back early if he wants to keep the two Pistons at check. But because Muscala is behind on the play, the Pistons big men can capitalize and quickly run the floor before he recovers, creating a 2-on-1 scenario against Embiid.

This play would not have happened if they were half a second late. It depends on Griffin’s ability to push the ball and make quick decisions, Drummond’s threat near the basket that leads Embiid to stay with him and not go for a full-on contest on Griffin, and of course the brilliance of the pass fake that takes Embiid out of the equation and gives Griffin space to show his physical talents.

Keeping up the pace will be a huge deal for the Pistons next year as it emphasizes the skillsets of their two main pillars. Griffin can push the ball and get the defense’s attention while Drummond quickly gets behind the defense for a pass or the rebound.

Rebounding against Drummond and Griffin is not an easy task. The team had an outstanding 29.9 offensive rebound percentage when these two were on the floor compared to an even more impressive 19.6 percentage for their opponents.

It seems like other teams didn’t even try to crash the offensive boards against these two. Next, we’ll look how Griffin’s presence on the floor takes some pressure off for Drummond.