Philadelphia 76ers: Seth Curry, Andre Drummond instantly impact the Nets

The NBA is a cold, cold business.

While some players transcend the general business of day-to-day NBA life and become integral parts of a franchise’s decision making – think Kevin Durant in Brooklyn or Giannis Antetokounmpo – for most, the concept of long-term stability lasts only as long as the next star who wants out or the next six-game losing streak.

Take, for example, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond, two of the Philadelphia 76ers‘ best acquisitions of the last half-decade. Sure, Curry came to Philly as a 3 point shooting ace who perfectly fit alongside Ben Simmons in the Sixers’ starting backcourt, but he also had the added bonus of being Doc Rivers’ son-in-law, which the coach surely appreciated.

And as for Drummond? Well, he knew Rivers since before his time at UConn and was explicitly recruited by the ex-NBA Champion largely because of that relationship. Even in a diminished role, Drummond was a very good 1B behind Joel Embiid and kept the Sixers potent for all 48 minutes of action at the center spot.

Ideally, would the Philadelphia 76ers have liked to keep the duo in red, white, and blue instead of shipping them off for their new, bitter rivals? Probably, but hey, that’s the business of basketball; unless you’re Joel Embiid, you probably should rent instead of buy. But hey, it’s not all doom and gloom for Seth Curry and Andre Drummond; while I’m sure the duo weren’t all that jazzed to move in the middle of the season, they at least made an immediate impact with the Brooklyn Nets in their debut, which is nice to see for a pair of former fan favorites.

It’s weird to see Seth and Andre succeed away from the Philadelphia 76ers.

If there was any team in the NBA that needed an injection of adrenalin midway through the 2021-22 NBA season, it was the Brooklyn Nets.

Down Kevin Durant, James Harden, Ben Simmons, and Kyrie Irving, at least for home games, the Nets’ early-season momentum came to a screeching halt with not one, not two, but 11 straight losses to drop the team from a very impressive 29-17 record to just two games over .500 and the eighth spot in the East.

Enter Seth Curry and Andre Drummond, who were finally eligible to play for the Nets after some gamesmanship kept the duo out of the Nets’ Saturday night showdown versus the first-place Miami Heat. Thrust into the starting lineup alongside Patty Mills, Bruce Brown, and Kessler Edwards, Drummond and Curry played 24 and 32 minutes respectively and combined for 32 of the Nets’ points to go along with nine assists and 16 rebounds – all against the team that Harden dropped four-points less than two weeks prior.

Curry led Steve Nash’s offense in both points and shot attempts, and finished out the game with 23 points in 32 minutes to go with five rebounds and seven rebounds, his second-most boards of the season so far. He hit 10 of his 18 shots from the field, including 3-8 from beyond the arc, and placed one incredible dime to Drummond halfway through the third quarter.

What? You didn’t catch the game? Check it out below.

You know, I think Joel Embiid might like to have a word with SDot after that one.

And what about the player on the other side of that sweet skip pass? Well, in only his 13th start of the season, Drummond scored 11 points in 24 minutes – a total almost doubled by LaMarcus Aldridge in five fewer minutes, but I digress – and finished out the game with nine boards, five assists, and a block. Drum’s “Big Penguin” game was on full display, and needless to say, it generated some slightly irrational takes from Nets fans who have been starved for big man action since trading away once and future teammates Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert last January.

All-in-all, not too shabby for a team down all three of their max contract players.

Would the Philadelphia 76ers be better with Seth Curry and Andre Drummond right now? Yes, it’s hard to argue that adding the duo to any team would make them worse, but as fans in Philadelphia saw at various times over the 2021 calendar year, both players can be exploited in the correct situation, especially if tasked with defending much better players like James Harden and Joel Embiid. Fortunately, the Sixers will be able to exploit these mismatches moving forward, which is a nice silver lining to a tough situation.