Andre Drummond Raves About Dwane Casey’s System

Andre Drummond Dwane Casey Comments

Getty

Ahead of the Detroit Pistons season opener against the Brooklyn Nets center Andre Drummond is all smiles.

The Detroit Pistons fired coach Stan Van Gundy and replaced him with Dwane Casey fresh off leading the Toronto Raptors to the best record in the Eastern Conference as well as taking home the Coach of the Year award.

Casey represents a breath of fresh air for the Pistons who have grown stagnant over the years despite featuring a young core led by Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond. Drummond has had nothing but positive things to say about his new coach so far.

“He’s like my fairy godfather — he’s always in my ear and he’s so small but I hear him every time I move around. Every time I do something, I hear him in the back of my head saying something,” Drummond said to the Detroit News. “He’s been a great help to me, expanding my game out to the perimeter and learning to do different things the right way … he’s been really good for me and I’m excited to have him here.”

The addition of superstar Blake Griffin gives the Pistons the most formidable lineup they’ve had in years. Griffin and Drummond have both made names for themselves with their play near the rim but Drummond has been given the green light by Dwane Casey to venture out behind the 3-point line this year.

“Everybody is looking at me like I’m crazy, but if teams are going to disrespect you like that … that’s why it doesn’t bother me whatsoever to give him freedom,” Casey said according to MLive. “Is he going to become Reggie Miller or Ray Allen? No. But it’s about spacing, taking advantage of the analytical game.”

Drummond hasn’t shown any indication that he can be a 3-point threat at any point during his NBA career but if his rise free throw percentage is any indicator then it shows he could be on his way to becoming a threat behind the arc.

“It does open up the floor,” Casey said. “Two, three 3s a game is not out of the realm of possibility for Andre. You knock one down, it’s going to open space for everybody else. He’s got the green light to take them when they step off him or disrespect him like that.”

Drummond thinks the system Casey has installed this year will be better for success this season as opposed to what former coach Stan Van Gundy ran in the past.

“It was night and day, because Casey coaches for today’s basketball. He tailors it to today’s run-and-gun basketball,” Drummond said to the Detroit News. “No knock against Stan — he was still stuck in the stop-and-go, run-every-play, possession style of basketball. That’s not how today’s game runs.”

Most teams are probably feeling positive going into the start of a new season so time will tell if this positive energy will translate into on-court success. The Pistons haven’t made the playoffs since 2016 when they finished 44-38 and were swept in the first round by the eventual champions the Cleveland Cavaliers.