NBA: Who is the better young center, DeMarcus Cousins or Andre Drummond

Andre Drummond (white) and DeMarcus Cousins are battling for best center in the league.Two months into the NBA season, it is becoming clear that Andre Drummond of the Detroit Pistons is the best center in the Eastern Conference at the ripe age of 22.Meanwhile, in the Western Coference, DeMarcus Cousins is coming off of an All Star season and looking to cement himself as the NBA’s preeminent center in the Association.With Marc Gasol taking a small step back this season, Tim Duncan playing low minutes and slowing down ever so slightly, and Al Horford not quite able to provide elite production, Drummond and Cousins are poised to take ove the league at the center spot.Both of these players are physically imposing human beings, with Drummond standing 6’ 11” 280 pounds and Cousins standing 6’ 11” 270 pounds. They are very different players however, as Drummond is a high flier, able to out jump people for dunks and rebounds, but lacking in other skills such as post offense and free throw shooting.Cousins is much more ground bound, possessing elite quickness for his size allowing him to take bigs off the dribble or in the post, but sometimes struggling to express his emotions in the most positive ways. Let’s dive into a head to head breakdown of the two.

#1 Scoring

When it comes to scoring, DeMarcus Cousins is so versatile.

When it comes to scoring, Drummond and Cousins get the job done differently. Drummond works as the fulcrum to Stan Van Gundy’s spread pick and roll system, setting screens up at the top of the key, before diving to the rim and catching lob after lob from the Pistons guards.

He has slowly begun to work in some post touches, but still stands as a work in progress on the block, not yet comfortable with his moves or handling double teams when he sees them. Drummond also struggles shooting free throws, where he is at a league low of 36%. If Drummond can make even 55% of his free throws and clean up some of his post moves, he will be one to watch out for.

With Boogie Cousins, you have a player who can score from anywhere on the court, as evinced by him stretching out his shots to the three point line this season.

However, he is best when he catches the ball on the low block or in the midrange and faces up to drive on his man. He has seen his shooting percentage dip this season as he has expanded his range, but he is able to keep his scoring efficient by getting to the free throw line in droves and knocking down 74% of his shots there.

#2 Passing

When Cousins focuses on making the sound pass, he is one of the top big man passers in the league.

Drummond has much to work on here, as he currently functions as an end of the possession option, meaning he is either going to shoot, draw a foul or turn the ball over when he gets it.

Right now, Drummond aveages .9 assists and 2.2 turnovers per game, something he needs to work on to become a major force on offense. He doesn’t need to become some assisting center in the mold of Joakim Noah, but being able to catch a pass off of a pick and roll and find a shooter in the corner could make the Pistons a devastating offense.

Cousins is one of the more accomplished passing among big men, averaging 2.8 assists per game. He is comfortable posting up, drawing a double team and then finding shooters around the perimeter or cutters running through the lane. Cousins is also able to grab a rebound and take the ball up the court before finding a teammate to finish the fastbreak.

However, not everything is good when Cousins passes the ball, as sometimes he gets carried away trying to make the tough pass, as evident by his 3.4 turnovers per game.

#3 Rebounding

Drummond is pacing the league in rebounding right now.

Rebounding is where Drummond has always been elite, and this year he has upped his rebounding average per game from 13.5 last season to 15.7 this year. He is currently the league leader in offensive rebounding percentage this season, the third year in a row for him, while upping his defensive rebounding percentage to become the league leader this year.

He is relentless in pursuing rebounds, constantly chasing down boards or jumping over the defender trying to block him out. Every time he steps on the floor, Drummond strikes fear every time a shot goes up, as defenders are always aware of where he is during the rebounding process.

Cousins is also an elite rebounder, capable of grabbing 20 rebounds on any given night. He currently is averaging 10.8 rebounds per game, while ranking in the top 10 in defensive rebounding percentate.

He uses great positioning and lower body leverage to gain optimal rebounding advantage before using his soft mitts to corrall rebounds from all over.

Coach George Karl using Cousins more and more all over the court has hurt his overall rebounding numbers, but he has still managed to stay very active on the boards.

#4 Defense

Andre Drummond is blossoming as he learns the nuances of defense

Both Drummond and Cousins play in similar defensive schemes that look to drop the big man back and corrall the ball handler on the pick and roll.

Drummond has gotten better at this in the second year of Coach Van Gundy, and is able to use his lateral quickness in small spaces to stay in front of ball handlers. He can still get very jumpy, though, succumbing to a ball handler’s hesitation that gets him off balance and allowing the handler to get by him.

He does a decent job blocking shots, but sometimes he gets caught chasing blocks that leave him out of position when a shooter fakes him out.

Cousins’ defense is a confounding subject, as he alternates between good defense and being completely indifferent on this end of the floor. He has the quickness to stay in front of ball handlers in short spaces, but too often lunges for steals that get him out of position.

Other times, he will lazily get into position whether it is against the pick and roll, against a shooting big man or in the post, which leads to easy buckets for the opposition. Cousins posseses elite defending qualities for a big man, especially very fast hands that allow him to get an inordinate number of steals.

#5 Who is the Winner?

Cousins takes this competion, but Drummond is right on his heels.

Scoring – Drummond 17.9 points, 52% shooting, 36% free throws, 52% effective field goal percentage, 50% true shooting

Cousins 25.3 points, 43% shooting, 74% free throws, 48% effective field goal percentage, 53% true shooting

Even though at first glance Drummond looks more effiecent from the field, Cousins takes this category due to his ability to knock down a high number of free throws efficiently and serves as the unquestioned number one option for his offense.

Passing – Drummond 0.9 assists, 2.2 turnovers

Cousins 2.8 assists, 3.4 turnovrs

Again, Cousins takes this category due to his ability to find shooters all over the court. Despite having the ball in his hands more, he has a better assists to turnover ratio than Drummond.

Rebounding – Drummond 15.7 rebounds, leader in offensive, defensive, and overall rebounding percentage

Cousins 10.8 rebounds, top 10 in defensive rebounding percentage

Drummond takes his first category, as he is the preeminent rebounder in the game right now. While Cousins does a very good job on the defensive glass, he is not in the realm of Drummond as an overall rebounder.

Defense – Drummond 1.5 blocks, 1.8 steals

Cousins 1.4 blocks, 1.3 steals

This was a close race, but Drummond takes it here by being a little more active on this end. Also, he doesn’t fight bouts of laziness like Cousins does.

Overall – With a two to two split in the categories, it comes down to some personal preference between the two. While Cousins has his bouts of laziness and losing control of his emotions, he is just a more all around force than Drummond. When they faced each other head to head earlier in the season, Cousins made it his mission to takeover the game and showed Drummond still had some catching up to do in order to being the top young center in the league.

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