As Lakers work in Drummond, attitude stays upbeat
It would be tough to tell from Andre Drummond’s expression on Thursday night that the Lakers had just lost.
The 27-year-old center was grinning from ear to ear, buzzing after playing his first full game since Feb. 12. His right big toe, minus its toenail, was feeling well enough. He had scored 15 points and gathered 12 rebounds, turned the ball over three times, and been caught up with five personal fouls. And what Drummond kept thinking about was everything that’s still coming.
“It felt good being out there,” he said. “Still trying to figure the guys out. Caught myself running into people every now and again trying to make the right play, trying to get people open, but the first game’s out the way. I got some film to watch to see where guys like to be on the floor, and I think it’s gonna be fun.”
“Fun” might not be the operative word to describe the Lakers’ close loss to Miami, and it might not be the best predictor of how today’s road matchup with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets will go. But even though the team is buried in what could charitably be called the most “challenging” stretch of the season, hope springs eternal with everything they’re lined to get back.
Drummond is the piece they can work with now, with 20 games to get the two-time All-Star embedded in how they work. And Drummond’s attitude is a good starting point, said former Detroit teammate Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
“That’s Andre, you know: He’s a big kid,” he said. “He likes to joke, to have fun, like any of us. We like to laugh and joke as well, so being new, coming over, jumping right in and enjoying a guy’s company just being himself, that’s good. We build things faster when guys is like that.”
Acclimating Drummond is arguably the most important objective next to winning games during the upcoming stretch. It hurts that additional Lakers could be out today: forward Kyle Kuzma (left calf strain), guard Alex Caruso (left knee soreness) and center Marc Gasol (left hamstring tightness) were all listed as questionable against the Nets, with All-Stars LeBron James (ankle) and Anthony Davis (calf) still sidelined.
Drummond’s first full game was riddled with miscues one might expect in a debut: turnovers, fouls, and as Drummond mentioned, iffy spacing with the occasional friendly bump on the floor. Several of the Lakers’ 22 turnovers involved trying to squeeze the ball to Drummond down low, or find him in the air for a lob. That timing and chemistry is a work in progress.
But there are some skills that immediately translate: Drummond was 5 for 9 from the floor, finishing around the rim, and was a surprising 5 for 6 from the free-throw line (he’s a career 57 percent free-throw shooter).
He grabbed four offensive rebounds, and point guard Dennis Schröder was pleased with how he created space with screens.
“He’s helping us, for sure, to get extra possessions, I think screening-wise, wiping up the defender,” Schröder said. “So it’s going to create a lot. He’s putting a lot of extra pressure on the rim, obviously. So, just got to keep working on that in games, during games and try to get ready for the playoffs as well.”
While the Nets-Lakers is unlikely to fit an NBA Finals preview billing, the matchups Drummond has with players such as LaMarcus Aldridge, DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin might be instructive for the Lakers. Coach Frank Vogel also remained upbeat about the defense, which has remained tops in the league and posted a better rating (104.3 points per 100 possessions) than its season average.