SVG benches Drummond for 'bringing absolutely nothing to the game'

Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy isn't playing around.

Not only did Van Gundy bench star center Andre Drummond for most of the second half in Detroit's deflating loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, the coach also sounded off in the postgame scrum.

"We gave him the first half and the first seven minutes in the second half, and he was just, in my opinion, bringing absolutely nothing to the game," Van Gundy said, according to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.

"I don't know if he was tired or what the deal was, but he didn't bring any energy to the game."

Although harsh in his characterization, Van Gundy wasn't far from the mark with his assessment of Drummond's miserable night. Nets center Brook Lopez dropped 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting in the first half against Drummond en route to 34 points and a career night from beyond the arc.

Drummond, meanwhile, was absolutely lifeless. He scored six points on 3-of-9 shooting from the field in 25 minutes and was outplayed by backups Aron Baynes and Jon Leuer.

One poor night in the bigger picture isn't too big of a problem, but Drummond's struggles extend beyond Wednesday's outing. The 23-year-old is off to a poor start in the first year of his maximum deal as he's averaging 12.6 points per game on 42.9 percent shooting from the field.