It's funny how many otherwise astute sports minds (not including Jacobs here, obviously) don't understand how much different the NBA game is than college. Many things are harder, of course, due to the obvious increase in talent level, but some things can be easier, due to the greater spacing created by a 3-point line out at 24 feet. For a guy like Drummond, he's facing bigger guys now, yes, so he has less of a physical advantage than he did here. But at the same time, when he got deep post position in college, a second defender was usually arriving right on the catch so he couldn't go to simple raw power moves around the hoop. And since he was raw, when he got the ball five feet and out where he was less effective, the double team didn't come - and he would start to press and force up lousy shots.
The greater spacing also leads to wider driving lanes for guards and more defenses getting out of formation and losing blockout assignments. I didn't see a lot of Pistons games last year, but I did see Drummond flying in for putbacks more in those couple games than he did in his UConn career, when someone always had a body on him.
For a guy like Kemba, it is much harder to finish among the trees, which was his toughest adjustment, but it is also easier for him to get into the lane. Defenses sagged as soon as he beat his man at UConn - now there's space to work with.
There's also probably some confidence and between the ears issues - it was different playing for StateU as the next big thing who is supposed to bring another title than it is after falling to No 9 in the draft and being brought along slowly without immediate expectations. Now he can have a chip on his shoulder - before he just had weight on his shoulders. That can make a difference when you are 18 or 19 and still figuring things out. Harrison Barnes struggled with some of those things as a frosh at UNC too.
