Andre Drummond plays a wrathful style of basketball.
He prefers to procure his points the old-fashioned way—in the paint. The Pistons’ all-star center uses his unique blend of size and strength to pull down 13 rebounds a night. His athleticism helps to provide a defensive presence at the rim. The 7-foot, 280-pounder throwback to the great centers of eras gone by.
Getting between him and the basket might cause opponents to catch an elbow. Ask Hornets big man Roy Hibbert. Drummond's also not afraid to intimidate verbally. Hibbert and others are familiar with his trash-talking. Pistons great Isaiah Thomas recently gave high praise to Drummond, telling Sporting News he would’ve fit in perfectly with the Bad Boys teams of the late 1980s and early ’90s.
"Everybody who knows me knows the way I play," said Drummond, who has led the Pistons to a 6-2 record in their last eight games. "I don't take any mess out there. I don’t play dirty, but I'm not here to be messed with. I respect everybody, but I got work to do."
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You might expect such a physical player to bump loud music in his headphones before preparing to bang with the likes of DeMarcus Cousins, Dwight Howard and Hassan Whiteside. Instead, Drummond prefers tranquility over trap rap. Saxophonist Eric Darius is a favorite. The 24-year-old Drummond came discovered Darius' tunes while searching “smooth jazz” on his iPad.
Drummond's increased focus has shown most at the free-throw line.
Last year, he shot a paltry 35 percent from the charity stripe. His ineptitude allowed teams to take him out of games with constant fouls. He’s brought his foul shooting up to 45 percent. That uptick has been enough to make teams hesitant to put him on the line as often.
“We were slowed down so many times last season because of the incessant fouls,” Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. “It was hard to get into a rhythm because of it. In order for us to be as good as we can be he has to hit those free throws."
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The jury is still out on if Drummond can continue to improve from the line, but he does have the confidence of his teammates. Point guard Reggie Jackson has put in extra time with the UConn product.
“He would get so down about it and it would affect his whole game,” Jackson said. “He wants to contribute so badly and it was taking a toll on him emotionally. We just got him come with one constant way to shoot and even if he misses don’t deter from it.”
Better free-throw shooting has given Drummond the confidence to expand his offensive arsenal outside the paint, working on his midrange game.
This past offseason, Drummond lost more than 20 pounds to become quicker in pick-and-roll situations, and it’s paying off. Now, his scoring isn't exclusively limited to the painted area. Drummond remains one of the league's most effective down low, with 81 percent of his scoring coming in the lane. However, that is a career-low number. He was at 87.3 percent in 2013-14.
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Last season, Drummond shot 22 percent from 10-16 feet, only taking less than 5 percent of his shots from that distance. This season he’s making 55 percent of his attempts from that range. The added dimension helps the Pistons offense flow better. He also has doubled his career assist rate, averaging a respectable (for a center) 1.4 a game.
“With him picking up that outside jumper there are so many more things we can do,” Van Gundy said. “Our offense is constantly evolving and Drummond’s improvement is a big part of it.”
The Pistons are 12-11, but they have played one of the NBA’s toughest schedules and still have the third-best point differential in the Eastern Conference. Jackson, who played at a near-all-star level last season, is finally returning from a lengthy absence due to injury, and a once-weak bench has become one of Detroit's strengths.
Drummond's center of everything. The offense is loaded with shooters such as Tobias Harris, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Marcus Morris to spread the floor around him, and his solid play inside is the key for the NBA's second-stingiest defense, allowing just 96.7 points per game.
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“He's got everything you want in a star player,” Thomas said. “He's tenacious and smart. He's a throwback. I love watching him. If that team sticks together they can make some noise.”
If it's up to Drummond, that noise will make a beautiful melody, combining the speedy staccato of a snare drum with the depth of a tenor sax. It takes improvisation, rhythm and harmony to make a band great.
Drummond hopes his Motown squad can do the same.