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Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson
Yeah I dunno where people are getting this idea that Drummond is anything but a quality big man, especially the idea that he's a bad defensive player. He's one of the better defensive big men in the league. He's also the best rebounder in the league by a fair margin, and has a decent post-game too.
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I can't speak for anyone else, but I got the idea he's a bad defender last night watching the Mavs systemically work against him with any weapon they could. The plan was clearly to get him switched on Luka, and when he did, Luka destroyed him. THAT is the mark of an effective NBA big now - be able to switch onto a perimeter player and at least make him uncomfortable. It's something we all learned when Tyson Chandler was here the first time.
Also, do we think it's a coincidence that KP all of a sudden got on a roll and looked 10x more confident than he has all season? He torched the dude, too. Now, KP is GREAT, but there are actually a lot of bigs now with skill who can move. I left that game feeling like he would be out of his element against most of them.
There were at least two instances in the 3rd quarter (when the Mavs broke the game open) that I can remember the Mavs scoring ridiculously easy baskets in transition just because Drummond couldn't get back on defense as fast as Powell could run the length of the court after inbounding.
So, if Drummond can't run the floor fast enough to set up defensively, can't guard talented bigs and looks like a 90's center when switched onto a perimeter handler...what, exactly, makes him a good defender?
I would take him as a 3rd center, at the minimum and use him kind of like they use Boban. Not a fan of his at any higher commitment level.