Detroit Pistons: 3 takeaways from 2017-18 NBA preseason

3. Andre Drummond’s increased speed and agility creates opportunities for his teammates

In recent years the Detroit Pistons haven’t had much hustle.

Andre Drummond lost about 30 pounds during the offseason and worked on his conditioning. The center’s weight loss helped improve his quickness and agility. Drummond is able to get to the ball faster and jump higher.

Reggie Jackson talked about the impact Drummond’s weight loss would have on the team this season. After the Pistons’ Media Day in September, Chris Nelson of the Detroit Free Press shared Jackson’s comments.

"“Losing that weight, and being able to attack both ends of the court, is going to be tremendous for us. He’s our engine. The car can only go as far as your engine takes you. “When it comes around this league, there’s only a few teams blessed to have ‘that’ guy, [who] can take you to another level. And he’s that guy.”"

Rod Beard of the Detroit News wrote about Drummond’s form after the Detroit PIstons loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

"“Maybe it was the matchup against the Bucks’ tender center corps, but Drummond looked like an All-Star. He finished with 18 points, 22 rebounds and seven assists and was active on both ends of the court. The big highlight was a fade away jumper to beat the shot clock in the third quarter.”"

Drummond needs the added speed and agility if he hopes to live up to the preseason hype and silence his critics.

If Drummond continues to play like he did in the preseason finale, silencing the critics won’t be an issue.