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The media and fans have recently been criticizing Pistons center Andre Drummond for his unacceptable behavior in the Pistons playoff-clinching victory.
While the Pistons were closing out the Washington Wizards, Drummond was seen down and not very happy on the sidelines. He saw just 25 minutes and finished with eight points and four rebounds on 3-10 shooting while every other starter played at least 34 minutes on the night.
Drummond issued an apology, as reported by Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
“Age doesn’t matter; I’ve been here for four years,” Drummond, 22, said. “That’s unacceptable what I did — no matter what the circumstances were. So I did apologize, and something like that won’t happen again, because it was selfish on my part. I should have celebrated with my teammates.
“Everybody’s watching. All types of videos came out. I didn’t pay it any mind because I knew what was really going on with me, but to the untrained eye, it looked like something different.”
His coach Stan Van Gundy, however, has his player's back no matter what, and spoke out after a Pistons' practice on why it's really not a big deal for him. Mike Brudenell of the Detroit Free Press reports.
“I think sometimes — and I've said it to you guys before too — whether a guy says something back to me or reacts wrong in a game or whatever it is, I think people are too quick to criticize guys for that stuff,” said Van Gundy. “That's in the heat of the moment. Every once and and a while frustrations and stuff show. It certainly does in me. That has nothing to do with what kind of guy he is, or how unselfish he is and what kind of teammate he is. …
“I mean, when he has time to gather himself, by the time (Drummond) hit the locker-room after the game, he was fine. … He was happy for his teammates and everything else.
“In the midst of it, Andre is a competitive guy coming out of a playoff-clinching game with eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter; of course he'll be upset. I'd wonder about him more if he wasn't upset.”
Van Gundy benched Drummond with 8:51 to go in the fourth quarter after the Wizards started to intentionally foul him and put him on the free throw line. Drummond, understandably upset, sat by himself on the bench for the rest of the quarter and even wasn't as visibly celebratory as his teammates.
Drummond, however, basically has the franchise tag on him as does Reggie Jackson, and those two will be expected to lead their team night-in and night-out. That means come playoff-time, Drummond is going to have to be “all-in” for the team. Van Gundy says that won't even be a problem, and he expects Drummond to learn from this.
“Andre's a guy committed to his teammates, he's as happy as hell about the playoffs, he's a great team guy.”
“I do think it's a good learning thing,” said Van Gundy of the reaction in the media and from fans to Drummond's pouting. “And I'm sure that the criticism in the newspapers he got and things like that helps him understand he's being watched at all times.
“Part of his responsibility as a cornerstone guy in the franchise is to lead, to set an example. I do think it's a good learning experience. …”
This Pistons play their final home game tonight against a desperate Miami Heat team before facing off against the Cleveland Cavaliers tomorrow in what may be a first-round matchup this weekend.
