Andre Drummond’s putbacks are a legitimate weapon for the Pistons
The nature of having Andre Drummond dive towards the basket in a pick-and-roll does wonders for the Detroit Pistons offense. Even without the ability to pop to 16-feet for a jump shot like the Al Horfords and Karl-Anthony Towns of the world, the threat of an athletic center cutting for an alley-oop has a way of creating open looks for teammates on the perimeter and scoring opportunities at the rim for lead guards.
It’s why, following Stan Van Gundy’s success with Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic in the late 2000s, the Pistons ran the pick-and-roll more than just about every team in NBA last season.
With that in mind, it’s surprising Drummond doesn’t score as frequently in the pick-and-roll as other players at his position. Despite converting them at a rate of 1.10 points per possession (71.7 percentile), only 13.2 percent of Drummond’s offense came as the roll man last season. Not only was that rate lower than 21 players in the NBA, Blake Griffin attempted nearly as many total shots out of the pick-and-roll as Drummond in less than half the amount of games.
However, those numbers are skewed because rather than running pick-and-rolls with the intention of having Drummond score directly out of them, the Pistons often put him in position to grab an offensive rebound — something he does at an unprecedented rate — for second chance opportunities. Drummond is in a class of his own when it comes to putbacks, with a total of 175 last season. The only players to come remotely close to him were Hassan Whiteside (94), Enes Kanter (104) and Robin Lopez (108). If Drummond’s scoring in the pick-and-roll was combined with his putbacks from pick-and-roll possessions, he’d likely rank near the top of the league in volume.
The success of those plays hinges on the ball handler turning the corner and drawing the opposing big man away from Drummond, which Reggie Jackson does about as well as anyone in the league. Beyond recording 55.9 percent of his points in the pick-and-roll last season, Jackson scored in those sets more efficiently than John Wall, Russell Westbrook, Kyle Lowry and Isaiah Thomas. As long as he baits the opposing big into contesting his shot, Drummond can sneak behind the back line of the defense and set himself up for an offensive rebound.
That acts as a huge safety net for everyone on the Pistons. A large number of Jackson’s misses likely come from him knowing he can throw just about anything at the rim because Drummond will clean it up. In most situations, it’s an assist masquerading as a missed shot.
Just watch Jackson settle for a heavily contested layup over Andre Bogut and Harrison Barnes in the video below — what would usually be an ill-advised attempt — knowing Drummond is totally unguarded on the roll. When there are three shooters on the court, there’s not much the defense can do to prevent Jackson from getting a layup and Drummond from getting an uncontested putback.
This, of course, is the alternative if the ball handler doesn’t shoot:
If Drummond is unable to score immediately, pick-and-rolls at least put him in position to use his physical tools on the offensive glass. At 6-11 with a 7-6 wingspan, Drummond covers a tremendous amount of ground around the basket. Throw in his 30-inch vertical and it makes him a tough cover for the NBA’s biggest centers and a nearly impossible cover for everyone else.
Notice how Pau Gasol has a foot inside the restricted area before Drummond makes contact with him. All it takes for Gasol to be underneath the basket is a slight nudge, and it allows Drummond to fight for a rebound with three other players around him — Tony Snell, Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose — like he’s a high schooler playing against middle schoolers.
To complicate matters further for the defense, Drummond knows how to use his strength to his advantage. Only four players were listed at a heavier weight than Drummond (279 pounds) last season, and he throws that bulk around with the athleticism of a guard. If he can get behind his defender before a shot goes up, he’ll get into a low stance and use his butt to drive his opponent backwards, which usually puts him underneath the basket for the ball to drop into his hands.
As you can see in the following video, even prolific rebounders like Zach Randolph struggle to keep Drummond at bay.
It’s weird how something that looks so fluky can become a major part of someone’s offense, but that’s the case with Drummond. With 23.3 percent of his points coming from putbacks, he scores them at a frequency comparable to Carmelo Anthony post-ups, Kawhi Leonard spot-ups and James Harden isolations. At a rate of 1.08 points per possession, Drummond’s putbacks are also almost as efficient as a generic Stephen Curry pick-and-roll or J.J. Redick curling off of a screen for a jump shot.
In other words: Putbacks have become Drummond’s way of creating reliable shots for himself in the halfcourt, and there isn’t anyone currently in the NBA who comes close to him in comparison.
It’s also why Drummond’s skill set is still so intriguing — at only 23-years-old, he’s already established himself as one of the NBA’s best centers with very little polish to his game. With his body type, Drummond will always be a good offensive rebounder and pick-and-roll player, as we’ve seen with how Dwight Howard has aged. If he can continue adding to that, it’s scary to think how dominant Drummond could be.