Andre Drummond is an elite rebounder with a blossoming post-up game, a burgeoning defensive anchor who holds the hope of the Detroit Pistons franchise on his broad, hairy shoulders.

He is also one of the worst free-throw shooters in modern NBA history.

If you've been a fan of the Pistons for awhile (or, hell, just watched him shoot a pair of free throws) this should not be a surprise to you. This has been a major knock on Andre since he shot 30 percent from the line in college. You know it, the Pistons know it, and he knows it, too:

"For me, nobody knows what I do on a daily basis," Drummond said. "Nobody knows how long I sit in the gym and shoot every night shooting free throws, so they just see the outcome, and I’m not shooting well right now so they feel like I don’t take the time to do that."

Dre's obviously working on shoring up this aspect of his game. He's tried not dribbling at the line, two dribbles, three dribbles, pointing his feet differently, the shot sleeve (which kind of sounds like those shoes that were only sold in old EastBay magazines that were supposed to make you jump higher, but I digress), taking a long pause between each free throw, etc, etc... The only thing he hasn't tried is getting as low as Jerry Stackhouse used to.

Well, now he's trying taking a step back from the line. Literally.

Here's Andre from the line January 30th in Toronto:

His right foot is right up on the free throw line, his left foot a little back (Don't look at his elbow, it's probably better for your health).

And here he is last night against Cleveland:

Both feet are definitely two or three inches back from where they used to be, in addition to his feet being more parallel than they were a month ago.

Last night was the first time I noticed this (the little-used camera angle on free throws helped me see it more clearly), but from staring at Dre's free throws on NBA.com/Stats (something I don't recommend), he's been doing this since the beginning of February. He started inching back after the first Toronto game (where he shot one-for-nine from the line), and he finally got to where he is now against the Knicks:

Here, because of the camera angle, it's harder to see if the feet are parallel, but his feet are definitely farther back from the line than they were in Toronto.

The $20 million dollar question, though, is "Is that helping?" The answer, so far, is yes.

Andre Drummond Free Throw % Games Month October .581 3 November .315 15 December .368 15 January .292 15 February .431 9

Dre's free throw percentage in February is definitely the highest it's been all season (excluding the #smallsamplesize of October). January contained the legendary, "I-feel-bad-for-KJ-McDaniels" Bang-A-Drum game, which could single-handedly account for the cliff drop in free throw percentage that month. Of course, the Pistons play three more games this month, and a few one-for or oh-for nights could place Andre right back where he was earlier this season.

However, this is a positive development for Andre; he's made a mechanical change to his shot which appears to be working. Any further improvement gets him closer to that magical 50 percent where teams are less willing to intentionally foul him.

As Andre becomes a better and more confident free throw shooter, perhaps he becomes a better and more confident offensive option for the Pistons. Who knows, maybe he won't rush those jump hooks if he's not afraid of getting fouled. Maybe he can be a crunch-time offensive option and take pressure off of Reggie Jackson.

If this improvement continues; hell, if Dre holds at around 43-45 percent from the line for the rest of the season, I feel confident in predicting a playoff berth for the Pistons.