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It’s early in Andre Drummond’s tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers but he’s already had some ups and downs. On Saturday, he dominated the Brooklyn Nets with 20 points and 11 rebounds in 22 minutes. He followed that up with an uninspiring three-point performance in a loss to the New York Knicks on Monday.
It’s clearly taking Drummond some time to get back into things after taking several weeks off. That didn’t stop Skip Bayless from ripping the center after his performance.
The game was concerning for Drummond but it’s far too early to suggest that he’s not going to be an impact player for the Lakers. First of all, he hasn’t even had a chance to play with LeBron James yet. The superstar makes every player around him better. Drummond could have a much bigger impact when LeBron is on the court. He’s also still dealing with a toe issue. He lost his big toenail in his Lakers debut and those don’t grow back overnight. He’ll be just fine, but it’s going to take some time.
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Drummond Is Going to Figure out How to Score
Scoring for a big man isn’t always the easiest thing, especially in the modern NBA. If you can’t hit 3-pointers, your effectiveness will be limited. Add to the fact that the Lakers don’t have their best distributor in LeBron right now, and Drummond isn’t always going to be the team’s most effective scorer. However, he thinks he’ll figure out a way to be productive.
“I’ve played in the NBA for a long time where I didn’t get touches on the post, and still averaged 16 and 16,” Drummond told Kyle Goon of the OC Register. “So one way or another, I’m gonna figure it out.”
Drummond recently took a good chunk of time away from the court while the Cavaliers decided what to do with him. He took the opportunity to work on his game.
“When (Cleveland and I) decided for me not to play anymore, I said, ‘All right, well I’m not going to use this time to sulk and be upset about the entire thing,’” Drummond said. “I’m gonna use it to make sure I get myself better and prepared for what’s next to come.’”
It’s going to take some time to see what Drummond is truly capable of with this team. He’s shown some flashes but there’s still plenty of opportunities.
Drummond Will Be Effective Against Certain Teams
Drummond is an old-school type of center. Had he played in the early 2000s, he’d be a superstar. His style is now a bit antiquated, but that doesn’t mean he can’t still be very effective. Similar to how the Lakers used Dwight Howard last season, Drummond isn’t likely to make an impact every game. In fact, he might disappear from the lineup at times in the playoffs.
He’ll be very useful for the Lakers when they play certain teams. It’s clear he’ll be a major weapon for them when they play the Nets. They simply don’t have the size to stop him. He’ll also be useful against the Clippers, who don’t have a great big. However, he’s going to struggle against teams that have bigs who can shoot. The Lakers would prefer to avoid the Denver Nuggets and the Philadelphia 76ers. That said, the team will likely have Anthony Davis back in time for the playoffs. He’ll be able to pick up any slack on defense.
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