Earlier this month, Knicks fans watched the team’s center rotation lose a couple of key pieces, Mitchell Robinson and Ariel Hukporti, to start NBA free agency.
New York was likely already preparing for Robinson’s departure, given the team’s self-imposed second-apron mandate from owner James Dolan. But they didn’t expect to see the veteran big man join the rival Celtics on a three-year deal.
Most teams would panic in that spot to find a replacement, especially losing a big man like Robinson, who can protect the rim and be a rim runner. However, the Knicks didn’t, as they explored various avenues before ultimately settling on Andre Drummond on a one-year, $3.9 million deal.
The 32-year-old Drummond won’t offer as much rim protection as Robinson did on defense, but one could argue that he’s a better rebounder than Robinson. And Drummond’s offensive game is more polished, which could afford Karl-Anthony Towns more rest this upcoming season.
Along those same lines, one thing the Knicks won’t have to worry about with Drummond is the fear of sending him to the free-throw line. That’s a huge sigh of relief and a big positive for the Knicks, as Robinson’s free-throw woes were a notable hindrance during the championship run.
Teams won’t be able to use the Hack-a-Mitch strategy on Andre Drummond
This past season, Robinson struggled mightily from the charity stripe, shooting a career-worst 40.8%. The Knicks were probably hoping that those numbers would improve in the postseason, but in actuality, they got worse.
The veteran center shot 29.3% from the free-throw line on a career-high 3.2 attempts, thanks in large part to the Hack-a-Mitch philosophy. Opposing teams realized that they could stop New York’s offensive momentum by fouling Robinson and forcing him to make free throws.
If the veteran big man made one or fewer, it was a win for the opposing team. But if Robinson went a perfect 2-of-2 from the line, it was a win for the Knicks.
That said, if there was a stretch where Robinson was missing free throws during this strategy, head coach Mike Brown had to turn to Hukporti, especially if Towns was already in foul trouble.
Thankfully, the Knicks won’t have to worry about that with Drummond. This past season, the Mount Vernon, NY native made 63.1% of his free throws; that’s a huge difference from what they were getting from Robinson.
Now, some may point out that Drummond is a career 48.9% from the charity stripe, but that stems from his first five years in the league, where he shot a putrid 38.1% from the line. But in his last nine years, Drummond’s free-throw percentage has shot up to 58.6%, which is much more respectable than where he started.
His improvement at the charity stripe can also be attributed to Drummond suddenly finding a three-point shot. The veteran center shot 35.6% from beyond the arc on 1.4 attempts per game during the regular season.
That’s a new element the Knicks will surely take. Drummond can force the opposing team’s center to step out to the perimeter, which could open up the lane for Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, etc.
Therefore, while losing Robinson is not ideal, especially to the Celtics, Drummond is the worst option to come off the bench. He can crash the board, shoot it a little bit from beyond the arc, and won’t be a black hole at the free-throw line.
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