NEW YORK — Expect to see a lot of Andre Drummond on the court this season – provided he’s in good enough shape to play the minutes Nets coach Steve Nash wants to give him.
Heading into Thursday's game against the Wizards, Drummond has been a rebounding machine in his few appearances as a Net since landing in Brooklyn as part of the James Harden trade, and his presence alone has helped a Nets team that has struggled on the glass this season.
As a result, Nash wants to play Drummond a significant number of minutes at the center position for the remainder of the season — which will take some getting used to for the big man who played most of this season as Joel Embiid’s backup on the 76ers.
“I think the biggest thing is that we’ve struggled to rebound the ball and he’s a natural rebounder,” the coach said before his team’s victory against the Knicks on Wednesday. “He also is a big that can protect the rim, he’s got good defensively and can be a presence and offensively, I think he’s good at getting into actions, rolling, playing above the rim.”
“I think he fills needs that our group is looking for, and we’re excited for him to continue to get more comfortable in the way we play and also really get in great shape. He’s going to play more minutes for us as far as the way we project things to go, so he’s used to (playing behind Embiid, but we’re going to ask him to) play more. I think part of it is adapting to the new role.”
Drummond’s presence has given much-needed support to a center tandem that has lacked the combination of size and athleticism needed to compete with today’s big man.
LaMarcus Aldridge has been a scoring machine and a decent rim protector, but his struggles come switching on screens and leaping into the air. Blake Griffin’s athleticism has faded and his shooting has been inefficient, so Nash has only gone to him in spurts for an energy boost. Nic Claxton hasn’t been healthy enough to crack the rotation consistently, and he needs to put on some muscle to bang with big men around the rim. And Day’Ron Sharpe is still learning as a rookie, and as promising as he’s been, he never expected to play many minutes this season anyway.
Drummond already projects to be a game-changer for the Nets. He’s athletic enough to finish alley-oops and at the rim on pick-and-rolls; he’s got shot-blocking instincts to pair with that athletic ability; and he’s a sneaky-good passer, though decision-making remains an area for improvement.
For the Nets to play Drummond long minutes, however, he’s going to have to get in better shape. And once he does, the Nets might have their answer at the center spot.
“We’ll see how it all pans out,” Nash said. “We’ve kind of had that center by committee for a little while now and each guy kind of has a slightly different profile. I think Andre brings a totally different look for us at center with his physicality, natural rebounding.
“We’re still kind of piecing together each guy’s role, how the whole of those guys fit together and how we can utilize them to the benefit of themselves and the team. And I think that’s something that we’ve still got to explore.”
