Drummond an offensive rebounding machine.
3-3 tonight!
3-12 from the floor.
I will never understand how this became the go-to Boneyard line to explain why Drummond's career didn't live up to expectations. It's like one person said it and it was agreed that it would be the company line despite it not making sense. Not every center plays the same in the league, you can impact winning and be positive on the floor in multiple ways. The Lakers stint highlighted why Drummond has bounced around and had limited minutes since his early Pistons run.
Drummond can’t guard PnR. The 3-point shooting has rendered him useless defensively. Drummond continues to be a stellar rebounder, but he just can’t defend at a high level or hit free throws
So how would Wilt do today?
Many of us see it as both.
I honestly think a lot of the tapping is to get in better position for a true rebound. He has such quick 2nd/3rd/4th jumps compared to pretty much everyone else.
Wilt would dominate because he is wilt. Wilt was a great offensive player and more powerful that Drummond, and taller.
No because his issue isn’t that he doesn’t shoot threes.
you're referring to the 90s when the league had HOF/high level All Star centers that had back to the basket games and/or could shoot mid-range jumpers, neither of which Drummond can do? I've seen Kevon Looney with 2 reconstructed hips be able to defend the pick and roll, but an athletic freak like Drummond can't be expected to do it "because he's in the wrong era"? When Drummond was the top recruit in his original class and had mixtapes racking up crazy views I think most basketball fans would have expected him to make more than 2 AS appearances and 1 3rd NBA selection. obviously his career is better than the majority of NBA players to ever live or any of us posting away on a message board, but I think going back to HS and projecting him I think most would have expected even more than that.
I mean, there’s a ton of examples of bigs who were ~top 5 in their class that didn’t have half the career he has had. Off top Jahlil Okafor, Skal, Sullinger, Nerlens, etc. It’s very hit or miss, especially those in that transitional period where analytics and versatility became king.
...and I bet UConn fans would call J. Okafor and Nerlens disappointments or they didn't live up to expectation because they went to Duke and UK but since it's Drummond it's sacrilegious to say so. Drummond's career is better than all those guys by miles but it still isn't what many expected to be when projecting him in HS. I guess next time Drummond comes up I'll just post "wrong era" and leave it be.
It didn’t really pop into my mind, but I was certainly aware that his game was being pushed out. The Pistons never did much with him, and he is unable to be a top 2 option. His downward trajectory definitely came earlier than I thought it would though.
I don’t necessarily disagree, just saying those type of guys got phased out so quickly because the direction the league went. It’s almost a testament to Andre that he produced and has stuck around in a time where his player type has almost 0 value.
Wilt was a tremendous athlete. He was on the track team in college and set impressive marks in the 100m, triple jump, high jump and Shot put, and is in the Volleyball Hall of fame. Wilt would be a great player in any era, imo. I'm pretty sure he lead the league in assists one year as a center.
but that's what I am and others are saying, Drummond's value would go up as a player if he could do other things besides just rebound. He doesn't have to shoot 3s like KAT, just be a better defender and finisher inside/lob threat and he could still be a 30+mpg guy in the league. Defense and finishing inside shouldn't be skills that are beyond him.
Well, yes. But he’s never had that so it’s pointless to hope for. He switches onto guards well when focused and gets a ton of steals/deflections relative to the time he plays. That’s about all we can ask at this point.
He'd adapt.
He did, lead the league in total assists but not per game. GOAT !