NBA News: Dwane Casey Shares Insight On Pistons’ ‘Big Three’ Of Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond & Reggie Jackson
The Toronto Raptors decided to fire Dwane Casey as their head coach after being swept by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second consecutive year in the Eastern Conference semifinals. However, it didn’t take long before the 2018 Coach of the Year found a new job. The Detroit Pistons hired Casey with the belief that he can make them a significant team in the league once again.
Turning the Pistons into a legitimate playoff contender in the Eastern Conference is not an impossible thing for Coach Dwane Casey, especially with the talents they have on their roster. In a recent interview with Keith Langlois of NBA.com, Casey revealed his first impression on Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond, and Reggie Jackson.
“The impressions that I have are most importantly that the players care. They really care. They want to win. They’ve told me what their goals are for themselves individually, for the team and that’s the most important thing. The impression I have also is their basketball IQ is very high. That’s something I was really impressed with. Blake’s basketball IQ is off the charts and Reggie’s basketball IQ is off the charts. Andre has a great feel for things and other players, what they do. That was very impressive.”
Dwane Casey Q&A Part III: 'We're better than what people are saying – that we're right there hanging around the eighth spot. No, no, no. We're a better team than that."https://t.co/XHN8pE1ujW
— Keith Langlois (@Keith_Langlois) September 20, 2018
In order to achieve their goal in the upcoming 2018-19 NBA season, Coach Dwane Casey should learn how to maximize the effectiveness of his key players on the court. Blake Griffin undeniably has a hard time making an adjustment since the Los Angeles Clippers traded him to the Pistons in the last February NBA trade deadline. However, Casey believes Griffin is a natural leader and expects him to have a huge impact on the team next season.
Meanwhile, at the age of 25, Casey thinks Andre Drummond is ready for any challenge and can match up against any big man in the league. With his plan to turn the Pistons into a three-point shooting team, Casey knows how important it is for the frontcourt duo of Griffin and Drummond to know how to space the floor.
Griffin has been consistently shooting from beyond the arc in the past two years, while Drummond remains a traditional center last season. However, this summer, Drummond is trying his best to make himself fit in the modern NBA. He recently posted a video of him knocking down three-pointers and said that he plans to take some in the actual games.
The Pistons didn’t make a huge upgrade on their roster this summer. However, ESPN panelists believe that the arrival of Dwane Casey is enough to help Detroit end their playoff drought next season.
