3 takeaways from Detroit Pistons 119-110 win over the Indiana Pacers
Andre Drummond has taken another step towards stardom
Drummond dominated last night’s game. Plain and simple. He scored 34 points on 23 attempts to score (including free throws), gathered 23 boards, had 2 assists, 3 blocks, 4 steals and only turned it over twice, which is tremendous given how much he was handling the ball.
The Pistons center was a beast on both ends of the floor and it was clear from the start that he’s ready for a career year. Drummond has had many dominant games in the past but this was different. This was a mature star that knows what he wants to do on the floor.
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He seemed to be in control of the situation and that hasn’t always been the case with him. On defense, he was everywhere. He had 16 defensive boards and 7 stocks (steals+blocks). Those are monster numbers. But most importantly he was laser-focused.
Look at the awareness and footwork on this play. When Sabonis gives up the ball, Drummond quickly turns his attention to the weak side action. He starts backpedaling as soon as he gets a glimpse of Warren cutting, noticing that Snell is behind on the play. Then he turns his body while the pass is on its way and manages to get a hand on it.
That’s just phenomenal instinct for the ball and elite anticipation. There’s only a handful of players in the NBA that can make that play. Drummond was disrupting everything last night. He had seven deflections to go with his seven stocks. Seven!
Not only did he contain dribble penetration and disrupt passing lanes, but he also contested 14 two-point shots, blocking four of them. He seems to have finally figured out how to to use the right angles to take away the pass.
His timing is also a lot better than it was. Two-three years ago he would either commit too early and allow the dump-off pass to his man or too late and give up an easy layup. He still has room to grow if he wants to be defensive player of the year but he’s getting there.
And you know that when a bad shot goes up, Drummond is going to get the defensive board and secure the possession. And when he got the boards he was able to push the ball and find easy shots early in the clock. He did some of that last year too but last night, again, he seemed to be in control every time.
The first thing Drummond wants to do when he brings up the ball is to hand it off to the wing. This kind of early offense will get you a lot of easy threes as defenders are not as prepared as they are later in the clock. Going under the screen is an automatic three from Galloway.
The second thing he wants to do is to go coast to coast for a layup. Well, actually that’s the first thing he truly wants to do but the coaching staff has, fortunately, convinced him otherwise.
Drummond seems like he always wanted to be a guard. He has the speed and agility of a guard but so far his ball-handling has failed him. How many times have we seen him bulldoze his way into a crowd only to lose the ball and complain about a foul?
Last year, he did a better job of picking when to drive and we actually saw some improvement when he did decide to drive. Last night, he was on another level. First of all, he actually crossed up his man three or four times.
Watch as he sets his crossover with an in and out dribble to blow by Turner and finish with the crafty reverse layup. He’s not rushing up the floor, he’s not driving uncontrollably. He knows what he wants to do, sees that he has the space to do it and executes it perfectly.
He had six drives last night, making 4 of 5 field-goal attempts and 2 out of 2 free throws. I’m willing to bet that’s the first time that’s ever happened. And it happened because Drummond has put serious work into his handles and finishing.
Not only that but there’s a calmness to his game that hasn’t always been there. Throughout preseason and in the opener, Drummond has played a meticulous game, clearly affected by Griffin’s leadership.
It was clear that Drummond wanted to show off his handles last night but he didn’t force it. He sees that Sabonis is not biting on his dribble moves and once again turns to the wing and hands it off to Galloway. The defender goes over the screen to avoid a three-pointer and the Pistons find themselves on a 2 vs 1 situation against Sabonis.
The Pacer can’t commit to the drive, in fear of the lob, but can’t stay on Drummond either, in fear of the layup. So he defends the space in between while simultaneously trying to keep Drummond in front of him. Of course, Drummond gets behind Sabonis while Galloway misses an open floater. From then on, the offensive rebound is the most probable scenario.
But here’s is the best thing that has happened to Drummond. I think he’s finally gotten over the fear of being fouled and that has played a big role in his development. It’s either take it to the rim or kick it out for Drummond so far and it’s working. He shot 10 free throws last night making 8 of them.
No more flip shots, no more jump shots, no more nonsense. This wasn’t an easy thing to do whatsoever. It took him years to get here and we don’t know if he can keep it up for a whole year. But the signs have been extremely positive so far and hopefully, he’s turned a new page.