Retinoblastom - Forum

seestyle · Mitglied Beiträge: 2246

The NBA is in a weird place for centers right now. Theres no doubt Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns and Kristaps Porzingis are the future of the position, but there are still a number of traditional centers trying to prove they belong in a league that is putting le s of an emphasis on rim protection and post-up play in the hope of having five players on the court who can space the floor out to the 3-point line and switch onto five positions defensively.Andre Drummond is one of those centers still trying to figure it out. Although hes only a season removed from being named an All-Star for the first time in his career, Drummonds weakne ses became more pronounced in 2016-17 when the Pistons took a step back and mi sed the playoffs with a 37-45 record. Drummond made marginal improvements in some areas he shot slightly better from the field and free throw Austin Hedges Jersey line but none of them took his game to another level in what was the first year of the max extension he signed in the summer of 2016.POSITION RANKINGS: | | | | Most concerning of those numbers is the post-ups. Beyond averaging 0.73 points per post-up po se sion over the last two seasons a rate that ranked him in the in 2015-16 and the in 2016-17 Drummond generates very little offense for his teammates with his back to the basket. He received in the post last season, 399 of which ended with him taking a shot. As a result, he made a total of 48 pa ses out of the post and created six a sists. Of the centers who appeared in last season, Donatas Motiejunas was the only one who pa sed out of the post le s frequently than Drummond.That means 27.5 percent of Drummonds game generates very little value for the Pistons, which is problematic considering it was their as a team last season. It Johnny Manziel Jersey s po sible Drummond will one day develop into a capable scorer in the post, but he hasnt shown enough growth over the last two seasons to warrant the amount of touches hes been getting.Until he does, Drummond would likely benefit from him focusing on getting deep post position...... or kicking the ball out to the perimeter to avoid these sorts of awkward po se sions:It would likely help the Pistons as well. While the Rockets, Magic, Warriors, Lakers and Suns each scored at a lower rate than the Pistons in the post last season, only the Magic came close to them in terms of post-up frequency. For a team that finished the season ranking , its important the Pistons stick to their strengths offensively.MORE: Where Drummond does make an undeniable impact offensively is as a cutter and roller. Those two elementscombined to make up the same percentage of his offense as post-ups last season, only he averaged over 1.06 points per po se sion as a cutter and roller compared to 0.73 points per po se sion in the post. It makes sense that hed continue to thrive in those areas given his physical profile. Not only is Drummond one of the most athletic centers in the NBA, hes a huge target as a 7-footer with a 7-6 wingspan. Thatcombination makes him nearly impo sible to stop when hes given space to gather the ball or attack downhill.Putting himself in those positions also sets Drummond up for offensive rebounds. Hes led the league in offensive rebounds per game for , and he uses those opportunities to create 23.1 percent of his offense in the form of putbacks. If his pick-and-roll frequency was combined with how many putbacks he generates for himself by rolling to the basket, hed likely be amongthe league leaders in pick-and-roll scoring each and every season.The problem is the Pistons dont nece sarily have the supporting cast around Drummond to reach his full potential in those areas.A big reason Franchy Cordero Jersey for their succe s in 2015-16 was Reggie Jackson, who established himself as one of the best pick-and-roll scorers in the league, finishing the season behind only Damian Lillard in points scored per game . By pairing Drummond with someone who could pick teams apart as frequently and efficiently as Kemba Walker and Kyrie Irving with decent 3-point shooters surrounding them, it opened up opportunities for both of them to score in the half court. It was the same blueprint Stan Van Gundy used as a head coach in Orlando, when Jameer Nelson and Dwight Howard helped the Magic reach the NBA Finals against the Lakers.However, Jackson when he returned from injury last season. He settled for more for pull-ups and got to the basket at a much lower rate, both of which impacted his efficiency as a scorer. His backup Ish Smith is a decent pick-and-roll scorer, but one who struggles to knock down shots consistently from outside of the paint. The Pistons were in the league last season, too, so opponents werent as concerned with kickouts as they were in 2015-16. Those factors gave defenses more opportunities to help offshooters and crowd the paint to prevent Drummond from getting all the way to the basket in Oklahoma City.It happens San Diego Padres Jersey twice on the following po se sion. Notice how the lone Rocket who doesnt have his foot in the paint when Smith pulls-up for a floater out of the pick-and-roll is James Harden. With Kentavious Caldwell-Pope being the only Piston on the perimeter who made over 31.0 percent of his last season, the Rockets can get away with crowding the paint to make it harder for Drummond to roll to the basket.Despite being surrounded by three defenders, Drummond still manages to keep the po se sion alive by tipping the ball twice when Smith mi ses. But it doesnt lead to a good shot because the Rockets form a Anderson Espinoza Jersey wall underneath the basket once again on Stanley Johnsons drive.With three defenders in front of him and no momentum going towardthe basket, the only shot available for Drummond is a hook shot from outside the restricted area. , its the difference between him shooting 43.1 percent and 59.0 percent from the field.Its partly why Drummond set a career-low with of his shot attempts coming in the restricted area as well, where he has made 64.6 percent of his opportunities in his career. For a player who isnt a threat to score outside of the paint, his game revolves around getting close to the basket and utilizing his size to overwhelm opponents. The more teams can keep him out of the restricted area, the le s of a threat the Pistons are to score.That speaks to the importance of Jackson, who received some in 2015-16. Becoming a volume pick-and-roll scorer again would help Drummond become a greater threat on the roll. It also speaks to the importance of Avery Bradley, Reggie Bullock, Langston Galloway, Stanley Johnson, Luke Kennard and Anthony Tolliver, each of whom have the ability or potential to space the floor in ways that should open up opportunities Drummond as a roller, post-up scorer and offensive rebounder. His weakne ses on offense meanhe wont likely ever become a go-to scorer at the center position like Embiid, Towns or