Overreactions from Sixers’ first week of season: Andre Drummond was best offseason move
This is a classic overreaction, so bear with me. Obviously Georges Niang serves a more “important” role on the surface, and he has been sensational thus far. The difference between watching Mike Scott roll snake eyes every possession and watching Niang contribute across the board is staggering.
That said, Andre Drummond has also been sensational. Imperfect, yes, but an absolute stud in his role. And that’s the important qualification — in his role. Drummond struggled mightily as the Lakers’ starting center last season, but in 18.5 minutes per game, he has looked like one of Philadelphia’s most consistent two-way contributors.
Drummond’s very specific brand of chaos is well-packaged in a bench role. He has less room for critical mistakes, but still infuses a level of creativity and ambition into the second unit that was plainly absent in the days of Dwight Howard or Amir Johnson. He’s doing his best Nikola Jokic impression every night, for better or worse, and he is operating at the highest possible level on defense.
Drummond has two steals and two blocks in each of the Sixers’ first two games. He is playing hard and using that massive 6-foot-11 frame to provide real defensive support in the non-Embiid minutes. The defense doesn’t completely fall of the face of the earth when Embiid sits, because Drummond is an above-average rim protector who doubles as a turnover magnet. That is a distinctly new feeling in the Embiid era.
He’s averaging 5.0 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists on 57.1 percent shooting.