When the Knicks failed to bring back Mitchell Robinson, many Knicks fans were left with a myriad of emotions. Mainly, they were sad to see the longest tenured Knick go to the Celtics of all teams and they were also worried about the prospect of having to find another backup center to replace him.

Leon Rose ended up signing New York-native Andre Drummond a few weeks later and the reception was mixed. Some were excited and believed that the veteran could replicate Robinson's offensive rebounding prowess and that he'd be good enough. Some were worried about his finishing abilities and defense.

So far, though, Drummond has given the Knicks plenty to be optimistic about.

Andre Drummond looks like a more than welcome addition to Knicks' title defense

Not only did Drummond impress to begin camp, in the preseason opener against him former team, the Philadelphia 76ers, Drummond played 11 minutes and recorded six points, five rebounds, one assist, and three blocks.

He did go just 2-5 from the free throw line, which was disappointing given that was supposed to be one of the major improvements in having Drummond over Robinson. But overall, the big man did what he needed to do.

Drummond defended well, looking active in pick-and-roll defense, which was among the main concerns surrounding him. He also contested multiple shots, evident by his three blocks, which included an impressive one on a corner jump shot. The rebounding, as it almost always is, was elite. And he continues to set strong screens.

As if fans weren't already starting to turn the corner, Drummond one-upped himself Thursday night against the Wizards. In a game in which Mike Brown played his main rotation guys more minutes, Drummond saw his playing time climb all the way up to 20. We likely won't see quite that many minutes from him outside of the games in which Karl-Anthony Towns gets in foul trouble. And that will happen.

In his increased minutes, Drummond continued to be very active on both ends. He finished the night with eight points on 2-6 shooting, nine rebounds (five offensive), four assists, and two steals. He continued to look comfortable defending the pick-and-roll, especially with Jose Alvarado playing in his first preseason game. And that duo could end up being a fun watch defensively.

Offensively, there's still some work left to do. Drummond is shooting just 4-11 through his first two games, including 0-2 from three. While Drummond did have a career-year from three last season, he did still just shoot 35.6% from beyond the arc. It would behoove both him and the Knicks to make sure that he doesn't end up just camping out there and becoming over-reliant on the three-point shot.

There's also a very noticeable drop off from Robinson in terms of his ability to finish around the rim. It was the other major concern heading into the season, and early on, it looks like his lack of explosiveness is hurting him. There's been multiple times where he'll receive a pass or grab a rebound near the basket and he just doesn't have the quickness to go right back up with it.

That being said, the Knicks don't need him to be Robinson. It would be great if he could be. But the Knicks are good and deep enough to survive without him.

So far, the Knicks and their fans have to be satisfied with Drummond. They'll likely explore any opportunity to upgrade at that position heading into the postseason, but Drummond's rebounding is as good as advertised, and his defense has held up better than expected.

If he can sprinkle in a bit of playmaking like we saw from him Thursday night and continue to be a better free throw shooter than Robinson (not difficult), Drummond should be enough to hold down the fort.

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