Andre Drummonds, Steven Adams

Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) said he is refocusing on rebounding, not offense, like on this play against the Oklahoma City Thunder's Steven Adams.

(AP Photo | Sue Ogrocki)

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Andre Drummond experiment as offensive post hub may not be over for good, just tabled for now, but the Detroit Pistons center and his head coach have concluded that they were forcing something that wasn't there and should take a new tack.

Between Wednesday, when Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said it would be a "major mistake" to reduce Drummond's offensive load, and Friday, when the two agreed to do just that, there was a philosophical reversal.

The third-year center's relief was measurable in the boxscore, with nine points and 15 rebounds in a 96-89 overtime win Friday over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

"Stan and I got a chance to sit down this morning and we all know the offense hasn't really come around for me at this start of the season yet, and it's really been frustrating for me," Drummond said. "So Stan and me really just talked and we just decided to go out and get on the rebounds, because I'm one of the best rebounders in the league. So I decided to really just focus on the defensive end today and let the offense come to me."

In the two games immediately preceding Friday's, Drummond scored a total of one field goal in losses to Chicago and Washington.

In the latter loss, Drummond had no offensive rebounds, something that happened only once last season when he was the NBA's most prolific single-season offensive rebounder in 16 years.

"I'm my biggest critic," Drummond said. "I really critique myself while I'm out there and sometimes it gets the best of me. I let it get to me. I did a better job tonight just brushing it off and moving on to the next play."

Drummond appeared disengaged Wednesday at Washington, but two days later, said he "absolutely" felt more relaxed in a more traditional role for him.

"I felt like my normal self tonight," he said. "I was more upbeat and I didn't really let things get to me."

Drummond shot 62 percent from the field his first two seasons, when he was heavily focused on pick-and-roll plays and offensive rebounds.

He is shooting 41 percent this year with more sets run for him.

"I really feel like I should just really just worry about the defensive end and really just let it come to me instead of focusing so much on being an offensive presence because that's not really what got me to where I'm at today," Drummond said. "I've kind of got to get that out of there and just continue to start playing hard."

The reduced emphasis on Drummond in the offensive post coincided with the Pistons' most complete effort of the season.

"Coming out tonight and really fighting and showing the hard work that we've put in, and the constant fight that Stan wants us to put out there, showed tonight," Drummond said. "We didn't give up and we didn't feed into different things going wrong on the court. We just continued playing hard and came out with a win."

NBA: Detroit Pistons at Oklahoma City Thunder, Nov. 14, 2014 8 Gallery: NBA: Detroit Pistons at Oklahoma City Thunder, Nov. 14, 2014

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