3 teams that should worry now that Andre Drummond is on the Lakers
By Jason Reed
1. Philadelphia 76ers
Let me get this out of the way for any Sixers’ fans that might be reading this article. Yes, in the past Joel Embiid has had his way with Andre Drummond. It is not the best historical matchup for the Lakers but it is better than what the team had.
A healthy 76ers team matches up really well against a healthy Lakers team without Andre Drummond. Marc Gasol is too slow to keep up with Joel Embiid anymore and Montrezl Harrell just is not a good defensive option.
Anthony Davis can help but Embiid still usually does well against Davis. Regardless, even if Davis is guarding Embiid well, it opens up a hole elsewhere on the roster.
LeBron James is forced to guard one of either Tobias Harris or Ben Simmons. Simmons is not a huge scoring threat, but his ability to slash and kick against smaller guards, like Dennis Schroder, would be really troubling for the Lakers.
The Lakers were one guy short in defending the 76ers before getting Drummond. Having that size to not only throw at Joel Embiid but help clog the lane for Ben Simmons makes Frank Vogel’s life a lot easier in a seven-game series.