Andre Drummond Took the Worst Shot of the Season (So Far)

In Friday’s Hot Clicks: Andre Drummond’s laughable shot attempt, the Francisco Lindor blockbuster and more.

There’s a reason he hangs out right under the rim

Andre Drummond is part of a dying breed of NBA player. He’s a true, old school center, earning his living by banging in the low post and collecting rebounds by the dozen. While other modern big men stretch the floor, Drummond rarely shoots from outside the shadow of the rim. Last season, 93.2% of his shots were from inside the paint (67.8% inside the restricted area), and he showed on Wednesday why he doesn’t like to stray too far from the key.

Early in the fourth quarter, Drummond got the ball at the top of the arc and Jonas Valančiūnas gave him all the room in the world to drive toward a spot where he could actually shoot. But, as three defenders collapsed on Drummond, he threw the ball in the air desperately. To call it a shot would be too generous.

In the words of Patrick Ewing, “Have you ever shot that shot? Do you work on that shot?”

Drummond doesn’t deserve too much ridicule, though. He was the key to victory for the Cavs in Cleveland’s 94–90 win, leading all scorers with 22 points and adding 15 rebounds. And not all of those points were pretty. Check out this awkward little 14-foot thrust that found the bottom of the net.

There are no bonus points for style in basketball. Those two points look the same in the box score as every one of Drummond’s powerful dunks and slick post moves. By the same token, the hilarious toss away from the basket shows up as just another one of Drummond’s 11 missed field goal attempts, so we should be thankful that it was awful enough to be singled out by TNT’s “Shaqtin’ a Fool” account to live on forever on the internet. 

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Congratulations to the Indians for supplanting the Pirates as the biggest bummer in baseball

Cleveland sheds about $44 million off their payroll in the #Mets trade, which is what they sought to do all winter.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 7, 2021

The Cleveland Indians now have the lowest projected payroll in Major League Baseball at est. $40M, according to @JasonRRMartinez.

Pirates are next lowest at est. $47M. #Indians

— Hayden Grove (@H_Grove) January 7, 2021

Players expected to make over $1M on Cleveland’s roster this season: Jose Ramirez, Roberto Perez, Austin Hedges, Nick Wittgren, Amed Rosario.

That’s it. That’s the list.

— Danny Cunningham (@RealDCunningham) January 7, 2021

Getting outscored by 40 points in 20 minutes should be impossible

Northwestern (+6.5) held a 15-point lead at half.

They were outscored 53-13 in the 2nd half. 🤮 pic.twitter.com/Cmk6vhtx3w

— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) January 8, 2021

Steve Cohen is addressing the issues Mets fans care about most

I know this trade seems to creating excitement but let’s get back to what matters - the black jerseys

— Steven Cohen (@StevenACohen2) January 7, 2021

Am I the only one who thinks it’s weird that he shouted out the specific video chat software?

After testing positive last week, Saints’ RB Alvin Kamara is participating in live practices this week remotely via TVU networks technology, per source. Kamara has a ‘transceiver’ - a live video decoder - at his home and is viewing practice as Saints implement their game plan.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 7, 2021

The Senators are going to have to get a little more creative with nicknames for guys named Brown

CB- says he has already claimed the nickname "Brownie" so Logan Brown and Josh Brown have to battle for what ever nicknames are left.

— TSN 1200 (@TSN1200) January 7, 2021

Carey Price’s new mask is sick

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A post shared by Jordon Bourgeault (@jboairbrush)

Not sports

A Texas mayoral race had to be decided by picking a name out of a hat. 

Guy gets caught trying to steal a package, can’t escape because he gets his car stuck in the snow

A good song

Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.