All things considered, the Philadelphia 76ers have raced off to a good start to this season. With a 7-4 win-loss card as of writing, the team is tied for third place in the East in the early going, managing to overcome the seemingly omnipresent injury bug en route to a positive kick-off to the ongoing campaign unlike what many predicted.
Joel Embiid is still being heavily managed by both the medical and coaching staff, and his latest mini-setback will only ameliorate their already conservative approach. Fortunately, though, veteran big man Andre Drummond has been more than ready to fill in, emerging as the team’s most productive non-Embiid center so far.
However, not a lot of people expected this kind of semi-resurgence from Drummond. All summer long, fans expected the 76ers to start funneling his minutes to sophomore big man Adem Bona, who showed some good glimpses of defensive tenacity and efficient finishing above the rim last season and during his stint with the Turkish National Team in the Eurobasket.
Instead, Drummond has been logging more minutes than Bona, and surprisingly, it is paying off for Philly.
Andre Drummond is giving the 76ers a lot of reasons to keep playing him
Bona was initially the favored big man off the bench to start the season, but Drummond’s positive play as some sort of an enforcer in that second unit has swiftly bumped him up the depth chart at the center position, especially whenever Embiid is sidelined due to load management.
Averaging 7.6 points and 8.6 rebounds in just 20 minutes per outing thus far, Drummond had already exceeded his numbers from last season. Even better, his efficiency around the basket has returned as well.
A major part of those improvements is that Drummond is healthier this time around, but another reason is the fact that he has shown great chemistry with the 76ers’ group of dynamic backcourt players.
If he keeps this up, entrenching Drummond as the main option at center sans Embiid is probably the right call for the 76ers. As promising as Bona is, he has not been particularly effective so far this season, and with Philly still operating under a stern win-now edict, the coaching staff has to put more premium on Drummond’s steady play.
Of course, it is still early to make a sweeping pronouncement, but so far, Andre Drummond has been more than serviceable for the 76ers. That’s gotta feel good for the team after a jarringly down year from his last season.