Knicks fans are aware of what they will be getting from Andre Drummond. The near 7-footer has been an elite offensive and defensive rebounder throughout his 14-year NBA career.
Turning 33 years old on August 10, Drummond has become less of a rim deterrent and isn’t the fleetest of foot. On the most recent episode of the Game Theory Podcast, the Athletic’s Sam Vecenie spoke on the Knicks’ new backup center.
“I get what the Knicks are going for with Drummond.” Vecenie said. “He is somebody that kills the offensive glass and will be very valuable for them in the regular season. The difference is he can’t play in the playoffs effectively because he can’t move well enough. So it’s a pretty significant downgrade to me from Mitchell Robinson.”
It was just a couple months ago where the Knicks saw very little of Drummond in a playoff series.
Still an elite rebounder, but not much of a rim protector
Last season, Drummond started 25 games for the 76ers in place of an oft-injured Joel Embiid. When the Knicks swept the 76ers in the Eastern Conference playoffs, Drummond played a total of just 35 minutes. Starting in place of an absent Joel Embiid in Game 2, he only saw 15 minutes of action.
It’s been a while since Drummond has seen serious playoff time. In the 2022 playoffs with the Nets, he averaged only 15 minutes despite starting all 4 games as they were swept by the Celtics. In 2021, Drummond played 21 minutes per outing over 5 playoff games for the Lakers in an opening round series loss to the Suns.
During his most productive years with the Pistons, they were never a great team. Drummond went 0-8 with them in the postseason as they suffered two first-round sweeps.
If you look at the numbers, particularly the scoring and rebounding, it can seem as if the Knicks got a similar player to Robinson in Drummond for a fraction of the cost. Those numbers don’t tell you though how Robinson is pretty much better at every aspect of defense than Drummond is. At this stage, Robinson is also much more of a lob threat due to greater athleticism.
The need for a viable backup center becomes even more important with Karl-Anthony Towns' fouling habits factored in. Opposing teams, particularly in the playoffs, may try even harder to pick up quick fouls on Towns if they believe they can exploit having Drummond on the floor.
Drummond said he’s no longer taking pay cuts…and then signed for the veteran’s minimum. That should tell you how he is thought about around the league. He can still provide enough value as a 15-minute player in the regular season. But will Drummond still be the backup center in the playoffs, or will the Knicks have added someone else?
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