Detroit fans, how good is Drummond's defense really?

[azuresou1]

On paper his stats are beastly, especially considering Detroit's overall DRTG was 108.1 and you guys have poor wing defenders (to my eye anyways). His stats:

99 DRTG
2.5 STL%
6.5 BLK%

The problem is that I'm working on a statistical formula and Drummond grades out higher than every other player in the league defensively, barely edging out Tim Duncan. I honestly haven't seen enough Detroit games to accurately peg him, and 82games has him actually being a slightly negative defender by on/off.

Anyone willing to give me a honest assessment of his defense?

[dVs33]

His size and athleticism make him a presence on D and it helps make up for his lack of awareness.
He isn't lost on D, but he can miss rotations at times.

I think he'll be a lot stronger next season. He just needs to learn more about where he needs to be at all times.

[Goldtop]

The stats match the eye test. The impact you see in the stats is the same impact you see on the court.

He has the chance to be the next superstar defensive player in the league, a la Rodman, Ben Wallace, etc, Seeing that both those players did it for the pistons, he's in the perfect situation here to realize that potential.

He's basically got Ben/Rodman's athleticism/instincts on defense inside Shaq's body. Not to oversell him, but his potential truly is scary, if your asking for honest assessment of how good he can be at his peak. Thats my honest opinion

To take it a step further, I really believe he could be the one player in the league who could guard LeBron/Durant 1 on 1 and shut them down. He's the only player who is bigger than them, while also just as athletic if not more. and has the ability to guard on the perimeter. We've already seen him guard Wade on the perimeter and steal the ball from him b2b posessions, as well as many other guards throughout the season.

If we ever have a chance to compete with MIA for championships, I think our chances may hinge on Drummond guarding him. And because of Monroes ability to play Center, we could get away with him at the 3 defensively, just by playing our SF at the 4, like a lot of teams do anyways.

[Drumtavious]

The stats match the eye test. The impact you see in the stats is the same impact you see on the court.

He has the chance to be the next superstar defensive player in the league, a la Rodman, Ben Wallace, etc, Seeing that both those players did it for the pistons, he's in the perfect situation here to realize that potential.

He's basically got Ben/Rodman's athleticism/instincts on defense inside Shaq's body. Not to oversell him, but his potential truly is scary, if your asking for honest assessment of how good he can be at his peak. Thats my honest opinion

To take it a step further, I really believe he could be the one player in the league who could guard LeBron/Durant 1 on 1 and shut them down. He's the only player who is bigger than them, while also just as athletic if not more. and has the ability to guard on the perimeter. We've already seen him guard Wade on the perimeter and steal the ball from him b2b posessions, as well as many other guards throughout the season.

If we ever have a chance to compete with MIA for championships, I think our chances may hinge on Drummond guarding him. And because of Monroes ability to play Center, we could get away with him at the 3 defensively, just by playing our SF at the 4, like a lot of teams do anyways.

Yeah I think you're overselling him. He won't ever be able to guard Durant or LeBron for a whole game, especially Durant. Maybe a few possessions. But there's no way he'd keep up all game if they just kept running around screens etc, it'd also be a waste. Keep him in the middle, stop them from driving.

[ComboGuardCity]

He's a beast, but has Rookie lapses at times. Conditioning issues are the reason he has problems with hustle guys. Will be interesting to see what he does this off season.

[MrBigShot]

As others have said, he's a natural rim protector but he can get lost every now and then. He'll work those issues out soon I believe. His defensive instincts scream defensive anchor though...the way he shades the ball on defense, sizes up guys for blocks and how much ground he covers.

[Goldtop]

The stats match the eye test. The impact you see in the stats is the same impact you see on the court.

He has the chance to be the next superstar defensive player in the league, a la Rodman, Ben Wallace, etc, Seeing that both those players did it for the pistons, he's in the perfect situation here to realize that potential.

He's basically got Ben/Rodman's athleticism/instincts on defense inside Shaq's body. Not to oversell him, but his potential truly is scary, if your asking for honest assessment of how good he can be at his peak. Thats my honest opinion

To take it a step further, I really believe he could be the one player in the league who could guard LeBron/Durant 1 on 1 and shut them down. He's the only player who is bigger than them, while also just as athletic if not more. and has the ability to guard on the perimeter. We've already seen him guard Wade on the perimeter and steal the ball from him b2b posessions, as well as many other guards throughout the season.

If we ever have a chance to compete with MIA for championships, I think our chances may hinge on Drummond guarding him. And because of Monroes ability to play Center, we could get away with him at the 3 defensively, just by playing our SF at the 4, like a lot of teams do anyways.

Yeah I think you're overselling him. He won't ever be able to guard Durant or LeBron for a whole game, especially Durant. Maybe a few possessions. But there's no way he'd keep up all game if they just kept running around screens etc, it'd also be a waste. Keep him in the middle, stop them from driving.

I never said he would guard them for a whole game. All you need is to keep the game close for three quraters, and then switch him on them in the 4th, when its usually iso time and you would otherwise have no answer.

Keeping him in the paint as the anchor is effective against Lebron too, but just saying there comes a time in every game where LeBron will get hot and nothing can stop him. Its those times that I think Drummond could be the answer, and having that ability to guard him one on one greatly increases your odds of winning. Just like when Ben was capable of guarding Shaq one on one. It allowed us to play man defense straight up.

[DetroitPistons]

Pretty much what others have said. His defensive timing and instincts are ridiculous. He has incredible hands on both ends of the floor too. Combine his instincts and timing with his physical tools and you have the recipe for a defensive anchor. Once he develops some more discipline (knowing when to go for a block and when not to) and fundamentals (rotations, boxing out better) he will have a Dwight Howard like impact defensively. Call me a homer but I predict he will win multiple defensive player of the year awards in his career.

[Brapman]

He's got every ounce of Dwight Howard's athleticism. His instincts for the game are outstanding, as is his nose for the ball. He might be the most agile big man I've ever seen in my life. He covers an incredible amount of floor space because of his instincts and athleticism and his size - he's long armed. He also has fantastic hands. He catches everything.

Forget about the pure stats for a second, which are outstanding. He also changes all the shots in the paint - in fact, there are tons of shots that are never taken because he's somewhere near the area.

Finally, you have to understand that he's nowhere close to having his man strength. When he develops into a man, this 19 year old kid is going to be as physically strong as any big man in the league. Add that to his defensive profile.

DPOY - multiple DPOY, totally within his reach.

[MrBigShot]

He's got every ounce of Dwight Howard's athleticism. His instincts for the game are outstanding, as is his nose for the ball. He might be the most agile big man I've ever seen in my life. He covers an incredible amount of floor space because of his instincts and athleticism and his size - he's long armed. He also has fantastic hands. He catches everything.

Forget about the pure stats for a second, which are outstanding. He also changes all the shots in the paint - in fact, there are tons of shots that are never taken because he's somewhere near the area.

Finally, you have to understand that he's nowhere close to having his man strength. When he develops into a man, this 19 year old kid is going to be as physically strong as any big man in the league. Add that to his defensive profile.

DPOY - multiple DPOY, totally within his reach.

Pretty accurate description. A lot of people would probably dispute that he's an equal athlete to Dwight, but I'd argue Dre is better in more important areas. Dwight had a 39.5 inch vertical on sports science compared to 33.5 for Drummond. Dre is quicker laterally though and a far more fluid athlete. Dre's movements are smooth like a guard, Dwight is really mechanic, and besides...vertical is not all that important when you are 6'11, 290 and have a 7'6 wingspan. Dre also has a lower center of gravity...so much of his weight is in his legs, and when he fills out he's going to be Shaq-like in terms of strength.

[Minas]

Pretty much what others have said. His defensive timing and instincts are ridiculous. He has incredible hands on both ends of the floor too. Combine his instincts and timing with his physical tools and you have the recipe for a defensive anchor. Once he develops some more discipline (knowing when to go for a block and when not to) and fundamentals (rotations, boxing out better) he will have a Dwight Howard like impact defensively. Call me a homer but I predict he will win multiple defensive player of the year awards in his career.

This

[bardobeing]

I honestly believe he'll turn out to be the perfect combination of Dwight and Shaq. Dwight's freak athleticism and Shaq's bulk and strength and will be the #1 center in the league in a few years.

[zeebneeb]

So I'm going to start watching pistons basketball again, after taking a few year hiatus. This kid better be as good as you guys are advertising.

[zeebneeb]

10 years coming up on these boards. What do I get? It better not be a watch...

[joseph mamah]

[azuresou1]

Do you really believe that he had a bigger impact defensively THIS YEAR than Tim Duncan though? Give me your honest assessment - I'm not ruling out the possibility. Just that it is hard to reconcile mentally given that I HAVE watched Timmy for years now, and even now he still maintains his rotations and in general is a defensive beast, minus the blocks.

[The Penguin]

Do you really believe that he had a bigger impact defensively THIS YEAR than Tim Duncan though? Give me your honest assessment - I'm not ruling out the possibility. Just that it is hard to reconcile mentally given that I HAVE watched Timmy for years now, and even now he still maintains his rotations and in general is a defensive beast, minus the blocks.

It sounds to me like you are attempting to create a statistical model that confirms your opinions on players. They keep stats for blocks, they don't keep stats for correct defensive rotations.

[azuresou1]

I'm attempting to make a statistical model that reflects reality. If by the eye test Drummond doesn't appear to be as defensively game changing as Duncan, then perhaps my model is overweighting the impact of steals and team defense on an individual player's capability.

In other words, is the Pistons defense poor in spite of Drummond's efforts, as DRTGs would suggest, or is he not actually that gamechanging, as on/off would suggest?

[JustinSane]

My honest opinion is that he could end up the best defensive player since Russell, and may be the best defensive player in the NBA already, even if he misses rotations occasionally (though he's probably around top 5, but behind Marc Gasol). It's inhuman how agile he is for his size, and unlike for instance McGee, his instincts are excellent. He's a phenomenally disruptive defender.

And yes, outside of Drummond, the Pistons have pretty bad defensive players and some catastrophically bad ones (CV, Calderon).

[Arp590]

I just know that our defense and rebounding were significantly worse during the time Drummond was injured.