Andre Drummond, James Harden: NBA Players of Month (October 2015)

The NBA announced that Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond and Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden are the Players of the Month for October 2015

The Players of the Month for October 2015 in the NBA honors went to Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond in the Eastern Conference and to Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden in the Western Conference. October’s winners were finally announced on Monday afternoon.

André Drummond‘s Detroit Pistons are at a surprising 5-1 in their first six games. The big man out of UConn was a major reason for the Pistons’ early ascendance to the upper level of the Eastern Conference.

Drummond, 22, is averaging an unbelievable 20.3 rebounds per game, 7.2 on the offensive glass and 13.2 on the defensive end. He is also putting up 20.3 points per game, averaging 38 minutes a contest.

It turns out that all the center needed was some space down low to thrive in the NBA. There wasn’t enough of it last year when head coach Stan Van Gundy would play Josh Smith and Greg Monroe alongside Drummond. His emergence as an All-Star caliber player could get Detroit back into the playoffs after a five-year drought in 2016, the longest such streak in the Eastern Conference.

James Harden‘s Houston Rockets sit in the middle of the pack in the Western Conference at 4-3. The beard of the franchise for the Rockets has done everything in his power to keep Houston in the mix after a slow start.

Harden, 26, is playing more minutes per game (39.4), taking more field goals (151), attempting and making more free throws (76-89), and turning the ball over (35) more times than anybody in basketball. He is averaging 29.7 points per game, 5.9 rebounds per game, and 5.7 assists per game.

Harden has shown during his time in Houston that he can carry the offense for the Rockets. He is doing just that for the club in the first part of the 2015-16 NBA season.