Sixers: Five biggest positives from 6-2 start

Five biggest positives from Sixers’ 6-2 start: Andre Drummond’s dominance

Andre Drummond entered the season with a considerable chip on his shoulder. Just a few years removed from All-Star contention, the 28-year-old was signed to a veteran’s minimum contract to serve exclusively as the backup center to the most dominant interior force in basketball.

That said, with a strong player-coach relationship at play and renewed purpose on the court, Drummond’s early-season success has been nothing short of revelatory. He looks tailor-made to the backup role, giving maximum two-way effort for 15-20 minutes a night and injecting more creativity and flavor into the offense than any Sixers backup before him.

There are still stretches of mind-boggling over-confidence from Drummond, who plays with the arrogance and bravado of a Nikola Jokic-level star. He tries passes no human should try, but hey — sometimes they actually work. His brand of chaos is extremely beneficial in small doses, and the Sixers’ second unit has reaped the benefits so far.

We will see if Drummond’s production continues, but there’s no reason to expect any sharp decline. A Ben Simmons return could put a dent in his minutes (assuming Doc Rivers’ aspirations of Simmons as a small-ball five were truthfully conveyed), but even then, it’s hard to imagine Drummond’s talent not getting him on the floor.

He’s averaging 11.9 points, 18.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 3.7 steals, and 1.7 blocks per 36 minutes.