Understanding Drummond’s frustration
Andre Drummond was ejected in the third quarter of tonight’s game after just 19 minutes of play. He was sent off after Gafford baited him into a frustration technical foul. (Gafford scored – yelled in Drummond’s face – and Drummond proceeded to throw the inbound pass off the back of Gafford’s head so, yeah. Makes sense) At the time of his ejection, the Pistons found themselves in a 62-52 hole which was immediately erased due to the spark Christian Wood provided, and Detroit went on an 11-2 run.
More from PistonPowered
- Which Detroit Pistons could save Team USA in the Olympics?
- Detroit Pistons could have major roster churn after 2023-24 season
- The best Detroit Pistons to wear each uniform number
- Full Detroit Pistons NBA 2K24 ratings
- Detroit Pistons: Who will sign the remaining NBA free agents?
Obviously judging by the final score, the Pistons weren’t able to sustain any momentum. Prior to Drummond’s ejection, one could easily see what lead to the eventual frustration that he displayed. He was receiving no help from his teammates protecting the rim, which buried Detroit in the first half. On offense he was frequently finding himself in optimal post up situations but the ball was seldom given to him, and there were a few reasons why.
Either the defense on the ball handler was so tight that Drummond wasn’t in their view, or the help defense coming to Drummond was close enough that dishing the ball down low to him would result in a turnover. The Pistons weren’t able to force the ball to him the way that they normally want to, and it was clearly causing some frustration, which is entirely understandable.
While it may be a bit of a stretch to speculate this much, one has to wonder if the noise surrounding Drummond and his trade rumors play into this at all.