# Andre Drummond: 'Stan is going to put the ball in my hands'



## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

> Andre Drummond spoke with SLAM Magazine at the big Jordan Brand event in Las Vegas last weekend about his new sneaker deal with the company. It's a fun Q&A, even if you're not a sneakerhead -- you can just tell how excited the 20-year-old big man is to represent a brand that he wore while growing up.
> 
> "As a kid, I always had Jordans in my closet, from 1 to 23," he said. "I had them all in all different kind of colors and styles. So to be a part of the family, it’s a blessing. It’s really exciting that they have an interest in me, seeing that I’m a player of their stature, to have me on the brand."
> 
> ...


http://www.detroitbadboys.com/2014/7/29/5949039/andre-drummond-stan-van-gundy-offense


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## RollWithEm (Jul 16, 2002)

Sounds dangerous.


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## R-Star (Jun 13, 2002)

I could see him destroying the league this year.


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## BlakeJesus (Feb 1, 2006)

Foul him! Immediately! Hack a Drummond!

He shot under 42% from the free throw line last year, until he brings that up to something even minorly respectable, he's going to struggle being an offensive threat game in and game out.


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## R-Star (Jun 13, 2002)

BlakeJesus said:


> Foul him! Immediately! Hack a Drummond!
> 
> He shot under 42% from the free throw line last year, until he brings that up to something even minorly respectable, he's going to struggle being an offensive threat game in and game out.


Not sure I agree at all. While it would be great for him to improve his free throw shooting, to go as far as to say he'll struggle to be an offensive threat is going overboard since guys like Shaq and Howard have proven that just isn't true.


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## BlakeJesus (Feb 1, 2006)

R-Star said:


> Not sure I agree at all. While it would be great for him to improve his free throw shooting, to go as far as to say he'll struggle to be an offensive threat is going overboard since guys like Shaq and Howard have proven that just isn't true.


Drummond is a high quality talent, but let's hold off before we start assuming he'll succeed because Shaq and Howard did. Shaq scored 23+ ppg as a rookie, and Dwight was a spaceman athlete. 

Not to mention they were both shooting minimum 10% better from the line as Drummond. If he could shoot even in the 58% range from the field, then you can live with the good and the bad. Low 40's is all time bad, let alone bad for a high quality offensive player...that's Ben Wallace territory.


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## ChrisWoj (May 17, 2005)

According to reports Drummond has made it through tomorrow's round of cuts. I still don't see him making the final team, but we shall see. He didn't look like he truly fit during the scrimmage, making more than a couple bumbling mistakes (a poor outlet here, a fumbled rebound there...). However I don't think that the scrimmage is going to play into the decision making as much as it was a publicity thing. The entire game was wide open and didn't look anything like international ball. It was very much an "exhibition." I doubt the practice scrimmages look like that game did.


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## e-monk (Sep 10, 2010)

BlakeJesus said:


> Foul him! Immediately! Hack a Drummond!
> 
> He shot under 42% from the free throw line last year, until he brings that up to something even minorly respectable, he's going to struggle being an offensive threat game in and game out.


remember all those games the Lakers lost because of this strategy? yeah, me neither


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## R-Star (Jun 13, 2002)

e-monk said:


> remember all those games the Lakers lost because of this strategy? yeah, me neither


Exactly.


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

Wow, didn't even mention the team once. Me me me


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## R-Star (Jun 13, 2002)

ATLien said:


> Wow, didn't even mention the team once. Me me me


That's what playing with Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings will do for you. They should have signed Lance and trade for JR Smith.


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## BlakeJesus (Feb 1, 2006)

e-monk said:


> remember all those games the Lakers lost because of this strategy? yeah, me neither


Yeah you're right, the 2014-2015 Detroit Pistons are clearly a championship level dynasty with multiple Hall of Fame players and one of the single greatest coaches of all time. Truly apt analogy friend.


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## R-Star (Jun 13, 2002)

BlakeJesus said:


> Yeah you're right, the 2014-2015 Detroit Pistons are clearly a championship level dynasty with multiple Hall of Fame players and one of the single greatest coaches of all time. Truly apt analogy friend.


Its a better analogy than saying Drummond will struggle to be a threat offensively if you foul him.


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## BlakeJesus (Feb 1, 2006)

R-Star said:


> Its a better analogy than saying Drummond will struggle to be a threat offensively if you foul him.


*‘Hack-a-Dwight’ strategy leads to Blazers comeback*



> When asked if the Portland Trail Blazers would look to the “Hack-a-Dwight” tactic in their first round playoff series against the Rockets, coach Terry Stotts joked, “First possession, we are doing it.”
> 
> It didn’t come in the first possession, or any time near it, but when the Trail Blazers needed a comeback in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, the fouling began.
> 
> ...


http://blog.chron.com/ultimaterockets/2014/04/hack-a-dwight-strategy-historically-hasnt-worked-for-blazers/#22590101=0


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## R-Star (Jun 13, 2002)

BlakeJesus said:


> *‘Hack-a-Dwight’ strategy leads to Blazers comeback*
> 
> 
> 
> http://blog.chron.com/ultimaterockets/2014/04/hack-a-dwight-strategy-historically-hasnt-worked-for-blazers/#22590101=0


Who said it isn't a viable strategy?

To say it will keep a player from being an offensive threat though? Dwight averaged 26ppg that series. I'd call that an offensive threat.


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## BlakeJesus (Feb 1, 2006)

And Drummond averaged 13.5 ppg last year...see what I'm saying? I REALLY like Drummond, but let us hold off on comparing him to Shaq and other 20+ ppg scorers throughout history until he actually gets anywhere remotely close to that.


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## R-Star (Jun 13, 2002)

BlakeJesus said:


> And Drummond averaged 13.5 ppg last year...see what I'm saying? I REALLY like Drummond, but let us hold off on comparing him to Shaq and other 20+ ppg scorers throughout history until he actually gets anywhere remotely close to that.


And Dwight averaged 15.8 his second year. Not a big difference. 

No one is saying hes Dwight or Shaq, but to just disagreeing that fouling him will completely take him out of the game offensively.


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## ChrisWoj (May 17, 2005)

R-Star said:


> And Dwight averaged 15.8 his second year. Not a big difference.
> 
> No one is saying hes Dwight or Shaq, but to just disagreeing that fouling him will completely take him out of the game offensively.


I gotta agree with R-Star here. Certain players are taken out of their game offensively by these strategies, but not all players. An example of a player being taken out of his game offensively by this sort of strategy is Rajon Rondo. Now I know Rondo is a better free throw shooter than Drummond, but that isn't the point. The point is: Rondo changes the way he plays on the floor because he's afraid of being fouled, to the point where it takes him out of his game. Shaquille O'Neal on the other hand, a much worse free throw shooter than Rondo, would still attack, attack, attack and did not change his approach as a result of the fouling. 

Whether or not Drummond is limited in terms of being a scorer has less to do with his free throw shooting numbers than with how he approaches the game as a result of being hacked.

Additionally: 13.5, on 9.5 fga, in 32 min.
Dwight Year 2: 15.7, on 10.7, in 37 min.
Shaq Year 2: 29.3, 19.6, 40.

Shaq is obviously a completely different beast. But comparing Year 2 of Raw ****ing Dwight with Year 2 of Raw ****ing Drummond is completely viable. Dwight averaged 2 more points on 1 more shot. Basically if Drummond is given five more minutes on the floor and hammers home one more putback, he's putting up the same offensive numbers as young Dwight.


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## ChrisWoj (May 17, 2005)

ATLien said:


> Wow, didn't even mention the team once. Me me me


Did you just read the link, or go to the Slam article and see the questions? Because all they asked him about were his impressions regarding being a part of the Jordan group. They didn't give him a chance to talk about the team.


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## Hyperion (Dec 5, 2006)

ChrisWoj said:


> Did you just read the link, or go to the Slam article and see the questions? Because all they asked him about were his impressions regarding being a part of the Jordan group. They didn't give him a chance to talk about the team.


What is this, a witch hunt?


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## ChrisWoj (May 17, 2005)

Hyperion said:


> What is this, a witch hunt?


Huh? Feel free to elaborate? I was making a simple point.


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## e-monk (Sep 10, 2010)

BlakeJesus said:


> Yeah you're right, the 2014-2015 Detroit Pistons are clearly a championship level dynasty with multiple Hall of Fame players and one of the single greatest coaches of all time. Truly apt analogy friend.


exactly what does any of this have to do with your hack-a strategy comment? nothing

hack-a-______ strategy usually doesn't work

and Phil Jackson mostly just didn't do anything when people were hacking Shaq so not sure why you brought him up (are you saying SVG is not capable of doing nothing? actually Shaq "Master of Disaster" might agree)

and if the Pistons lose or win it probably wont be because someone hacks Drummond as a strategy so the quality of the team isn't really a counter argument either

the strategy is a loser, you derail the game and give your opponent a 50/50 shot at points while disrupting yourself at least as much as your opponent (and BTW you're sending the message to your players that they cant compete straight up which is a loser too)


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## Hyperion (Dec 5, 2006)

ChrisWoj said:


> Huh? Feel free to elaborate? I was making a simple point.


What is this, a summer reading list?


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## BlakeJesus (Feb 1, 2006)

e-monk said:


> exactly what does any of this have to do with your hack-a strategy comment? nothing
> 
> hack-a-______ strategy usually doesn't work
> 
> ...


Phil Jackson did nothing because Shaq is a hall of famer and you're not taking him out. SVG can do nothing, but the Pistons are not the Lakers and Drummond is not Shaq, so the results do not correlate.

And I have personally watched the strategy work at the end of games, so your rhetoric is just that.


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## R-Star (Jun 13, 2002)

So.... everyone in here disagrees with BlakeJesus but instead of saying "Guess I was wrong" or at the very least "Guess we'll agree to disagree" hes just going to lash out wildly.

And this is what is wrong with this forum.


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## BlakeJesus (Feb 1, 2006)

Lash out wildly?


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## R-Star (Jun 13, 2002)

Cool. A gif. 

Guess you win.


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## BlakeJesus (Feb 1, 2006)

Cool. Sarcasm. 

Guess we both win.


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## R-Star (Jun 13, 2002)

BlakeJesus said:


> Cool. Sarcasm.
> 
> Guess we both win.


Nah, just me. 

Unless you want to post a series where Dwight scored 26ppg again as proof that fouling can make him ineffective offensively.


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

I think Drummond's free throw shooting will get better. In college he shot just below 30%. His first year in Detroit, it jumped to 37% and in his second year it jumped to 41%. By no means is that a good percentage, but he's clearly improving every season, which IS good.


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## BlakeJesus (Feb 1, 2006)

R-Star said:


> Nah, just me.
> 
> Unless you want to post a series where Dwight scored 26ppg again as proof that fouling can make him ineffective offensively.


How about I find some quotes from the opposing teams head coach talking about how it's a viable option and has helped teams win games (including his team, in that game). 

Oh wait! That has already been done. But clearly the consensus in this thread is more knowledgeable than actual NBA coaches and I am "wild" for disagreeing with the keyboard jockeys.

We have seen poor foul shooters get purposely fouled at the end of games for decades now, and we will continue to see it. Andre Drummond will be no exception to this when applicable.

SIDE NOTE: I've found, what I consider at the very least, a more realistic comparison for Drummond than Shaq (for the purpose of this discussion, because we are not talking about career trajectory). DeAndre Jordan! 10.2 ppg last year, so basically as close to current Drummond as 2nd year Dwight, and the only guy that actually shoots nearly as poor from the line (because Dwight and Shaq are both low to high 50's, while Jordan just shot under 43%).


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## R-Star (Jun 13, 2002)

BlakeJesus said:


> How about I find some quotes from the opposing teams head coach talking about how it's a viable option and has helped teams win games (including his team, in that game).
> 
> Oh wait! That has already been done. But clearly the consensus in this thread is more knowledgeable than actual NBA coaches and I am "wild" for disagreeing with the keyboard jockeys.
> 
> ...


So, let me get this straight. Instead of comparing year 2 Drummond to year 2 Dwight, we're comparing year 2, 20 year old Drummond to year 6, 26 year old Jordan. 

That makes perfect sense. Perfect comparison!

I am of course again being sarcastic. Your opinion is just getting more and more ridiculous as you keep trying to hold on to your initial moronic statement. 


By the way, don't change your opinion now. It wasn't that fouling a big man with bad free throw shooting was a viable coaching tactic like you're trying to say now. No. Your initial opinion was that if you foul him _"he's going to struggle being an offensive threat game in and game out."_ Your proof of that was Dwight averaging 26ppg in a playoff series.

There's nothing worse than posters who keep trying to change their opinion as a debate wears on.


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

Here's the thing about Hack-A-Whoever. It only works to a degree. At some point, your players will foul out and that creates mismatches. There's a reason coaches don't utilize it until late in games. Therefore, if Drummond gets even better offensively, he will be a beast because no team is hacking him in the first three quarters.


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## R-Star (Jun 13, 2002)

Basel said:


> Here's the thing about Hack-A-Whoever. It only works to a degree. At some point, your players will foul out and that creates mismatches. There's a reason coaches don't utilize it until late in games. Therefore, if Drummond gets even better offensively, he will be a beast because no team is hacking him in the first three quarters.


Exactly. All signs point to this guy developing into a beast around the net. Especially since the majority of guys he'll be going up against are 4's masquerading as centers due to how weak the talent pool is these days. 

In close games he may be fouled in the final minutes of the game now, where he'll probably be around 50% effective which isn't all that far off from just letting a regular play play out. To say that will keep him from being an offensive threat? I don't agree at all.


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

I will say this, though: if he doesn't improve his FT shooting, he will be ineffective in close games because either 1) he's missing free throws or 2) SVG won't have him in the game. And that's not something you want is putting your best player on the bench at the end of a close game. As bad a free throw shooter as Shaq was, he made his free throws when he needed to on many, many occasions. Drummond has yet to do that, but then again, he's yet to really face that sort of pressure.


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## R-Star (Jun 13, 2002)

Basel said:


> I will say this, though: if he doesn't improve his FT shooting, he will be ineffective in close games because either 1) he's missing free throws or 2) SVG won't have him in the game. And that's not something you want is putting your best player on the bench at the end of a close game. As bad a free throw shooter as Shaq was, he made his free throws when he needed to on many, many occasions. Drummond has yet to do that, but then again, he's yet to really face that sort of pressure.


Agreed. We've seen Dwight put on the bench before to close out games. Drummond is only going into his 3rd year though and finally has a great coach. I think he'll improve on that end. I could see him bumping it up the the 60% range. 

Its without a doubt a hole in the young kids game.


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