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This is what makes the Drummond situation so intriguing: he is a big part of the Detroit offence, and teams have quickly figured out that forcing him to the line is a lot easier than trying to defend him in the post. In his first three seasons, Drummond averaged about four free-throw attempts per game. This season, he is shooting them at close to double that rate. He has attempted 339 free throws already this season, which is the fifth-most in the NBA. Of course, the leaders in that category, Houston’s James Harden and Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan, are actually trying to draw fouls and take free throws, as they both make them at a clip well over 80 per cent. For DeRozan, the free throw is a highly efficient way to score. If he makes 80 per cent of them he will score 1.6 points every time he is sent to the line for two shots. Because he’s shooting less than 50 per cent from the field, he’s going to score closer to one point on a shot attempt in which he is not fouled. Defenders try to avoid fouling him, which is the way basketball is supposed to work.

But Drummond has turned the sport’s normal logic on its ear. He averages more than 50 per cent from the field, where most of his shots come from close range, so any possession that ends with a Drummond shot is going to average better than 1.0 points for the Pistons. Unless that shot is from the free-throw line. At his current rate, any time Drummond is granted two free throws, the Pistons will score 0.7 points. The math is not hard to figure out: the most efficient defensive play for a Pistons opponent is to foul Drummond. Which is why teams are doing it far more often. It’s not a coincidence that Houston, the most analytically inclined team in the league, gave Drummond those 36 free-throw attempts this week. The Rockets fouled Drummond five times in nine seconds to open the third quarter, putting themselves into the penalty situation — again, not typically a desired outcome in NBA play — and ensuring the next foul would draw free throws. Then they fouled Drummond seven more times in a row. He made five of the 16 free throws to open the quarter and was pulled. (When Houston tried the same trick to open the fourth quarter, Drummond managed to go 4 for 6 from the line, so the Rockets backed off.) The Pistons ended up winning the game, so Houston’s strategy was not an unqualified success.

The Pistons, though, are a decent team, at least in the East, with designs on a playoff spot. It wouldn’t make a much of a promotional campaign for the NBA, but Drummond, at the free-throw line with a playoff game in the balance, would be some rather compelling television.

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