Detroit Pistons: Who is the team’s best player?

Defense

For someone who is 6’11” with a nose for the basketball and enough athleticism to compete in the NBA’s Slam Dunk Contest, Drummond does not block a lot of shots.

He’s basically a younger version of Dwight Howard with his frame and his game, but while Howard has led the league in blocks twice and was good for about 2.5 swats per game in his prime, Drummond averages 1.5 blocks per game for his career and has never reached the 2.0 benchmark in a season.

That doesn’t mean Drummond doesn’t cause disruptions on defense, however. He led all NBA centers in steals last season with 1.5 thefts per game. He has quick hands and isn’t afraid to take chances to create a turnover, whether it’s against the seven-footers he usually matches up with, or when he’s switched onto a point guard with playground-style handles.

Drummond also led the league in Defensive Win Shares last season (5.7), Defensive Box Plus-Minus (5.3) and Defensive Rating (99.0).

Some people consider rebounding to be part of a player’s defensive package, and some don’t. The NBA Defensive Player of the Year award used to be dominated by big men who collected boards and blocks.

If you put rebounding in the defensive category, then Drummond is an elite defender simply because he is arguably the best rebounder in the league. He led the NBA in rebounding last season, pulling down 16.0 per game, which was the second time he’s led the league in the last three years.

Griffin is not known for his defense. He’s not a terrible defender, but he isn’t a dominant one either. He’s averaged 0.9 steals and 0.5 blocks per game as a pro. Even as Griffin approaches 30 years old, he is still one of the league’s best athletes, so he has the makeup to be at least adequate defensively.

Last season, however, Griffin’s 1.8 Defensive Win Shares was close to a career-low, and his Defensive Plus-Minus of -0.1 fell into the negative range for the first time in his career.

Advantage: Drummond