Andre Drummond’s Knicks debut gave New York an immediate jolt, but it also handed the team a clear lesson: the veteran center looks a lot better in bursts than under a heavy load.
Drummond had the Garden crowd behind him from the jump, and he rewarded that energy quickly. In his first 11 minutes, he posted a double-double and went on to finish with 12 points in 24 minutes, along with 14 rebounds, four assists, a steal and two blocks. For a first outing, it was the kind of introduction that gets attention.
The downside showed up as the night went on. Drummond appeared to wear down, and that fatigue showed in the second half when he kept coming up short on drives to the rim. He missed four dunks overall, a sign that the tank was running low by the end of the game.
That’s where New York may need to rethink how it uses him.
Game 1 against the Sixers was a useful test case for how much Drummond can handle, and the answer looked pretty clear by the finish. His 24 minutes came after Karl-Anthony Towns got into foul trouble early, which pushed the workload higher than what the Knicks probably want. Even though Drummond averaged 19.5 minutes last year, he played more than that here, and most of the damage came before halftime.
He logged 17 of his 24 minutes in the first two quarters. After the break, the production fell off. He picked up two fouls and hit just one shot, and the explosiveness that flashed early was nowhere near as sharp.
Coach Brown said as much afterward.
"He looked like he ran out of a little bit of gas," Brown said after the game. "I gotta keep getting to know him to see where the minutes may lie for him."
If the Knicks want to keep from running Drummond into the ground, the obvious move is to give 25-year-old third-string center James Wiseman a real role, especially when Towns gets in foul trouble. His job should be pretty simple: help preserve the legs of both Towns and Drummond.
That would let Towns rest when he needs to instead of grinding himself down, and it would allow Drummond to stay in the lane where he can be most effective - short, impactful stretches rather than extended duty at age 33.
It would also give Wiseman something valuable: actual game reps. He has appeared in just five total contests over the last two seasons, so New York can’t afford to leave him buried on the bench and expect him to develop on the fly later. A few minutes here and there would help him get his NBA legs back and maybe become more useful as the year goes on.
For the Knicks, learning that Drummond works best in smaller doses isn’t a setback. It’s useful information. And if they act on it, it could help them get more out of everyone involved.
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