Cleveland Cavaliers: Andre Drummond is a necessary chaos

Cons of Andre Drummond

For every good thing Drummond brings to the table, he also delivers some issues. For starters, his desire to touch the ball in the post can bring the Cavaliers’ offense to a grinding halt at times. He leads the league in total post-ups and is visibly frustrated when he goes 2-3 possessions without the ball.

As we’ll show later, slowing down the game with post-ups can help a Cavaliers team that is decimated by injuries. Still, it’s difficult to play this style with a player like Collin Sexton, who currently ranks third in transition scoring this season. Feeding Drummond directly hinders Sexton’s greatest strength as a scorer.

This wouldn’t be such a big deal if only Drummond was more efficient in the post. He posts up more than anybody in the league, yet falls in the 41st percentile for scoring on these plays. His below-average efficiency can be the catalyst behind some of Cleveland’s longest dry spells on offense.

As for defense, Drummond picks and chooses when he is going to give effort. We can’t fault him for much recently, as the Cavaliers’ frontcourt has been lacking depth – forcing him to play heavy minutes. But, it’s disheartening to see him give up on plays during crucial moments of the game.

Above all else, his unwillingness to pass the ball can be frustrating. Drummond has tunnel vision in the post, either forcing up ill-advised hook shots or turning the ball over at the highest rate on the team. His assist to turnover ratio places him at 250th in the league.

Don’t even mention his shot selection from outside of the paint. There is seemingly no reason to believe he is a quality shooter from deep, and he is 0-for-5 on 3-point attempts this season. Yet, he continues to pull mid-range jumpers and shoot 3-pointers that the defense is begging him to attempt.