Vince Ellis

Detroit Free Press

SALT LAKE CITY – It was a familiar scene.

It was the conclusion of the Pistons’ practice, and a few players were working on various aspects of their games Sunday afternoon on the practice floor at the University of Utah basketball facility.

And there was center Andre Drummond practicing one of the simplest things in basketball.

Under the watchful eyes of assistant coaches, Drummond was working on his free-throw shooting.

For Drummond, by far the league’s worst free-throw shooter at 34.7% after Monday night’s 1-for-10 outing in a victory over the Utah Jazz, it’s a scene that’s repeated daily.

Except there was a major difference this time.

For the first time, Drummond was wearing a gray sleeve on his right arm.

The sleeve has sensors that are able to alert the shooter when he deviates from the proper form that has been programmed into the app on a simple smartphone.

Will it help?

Too early to tell, as it was the initial presentation, and an agreement between the Pistons and the tech start-up is being discussed.

Windsor: Pistons' Drummond�s job is D, not FT shooting

But it shows the Pistons and Drummond are exploring all avenues to address his historically bad free-throw shooting.

“He has a lot of room for growth, and he is working on that,” coach Stan Van Gundy said last weekend. “We are continuing to explore different things. In the long run, I wouldn’t eliminate any possibility.

“The idea is to get the ball in the basket. … Shooting 35% isn’t good enough. He needs to improve drastically.”

Sound strategy

Drummond, 22, always has been a poor free-throw shooter. He shot 29.5% from the line during his one season at UConn.

He displayed improvement over his first three seasons with the Pistons, shooting 39.6% as he established himself as one of the more promising young players in the league.

And he started this season making 14 of his first 21 attempts. But it has been a steady downward trend, and the regression garnered national attention Jan. 20.

Replay: Freep Sports Happy Hour chat with Marlowe Alter: Detroit Pistons

At the start of the second half of a game the Pistons would win, Rockets coach J.B. Bickerstaff instructed reserve K.J. McDaniels to foul Drummond five times in the first 10 seconds — an attempt to get into the penalty quicker to take advantage of Drummond’s poor skill.

The Rockets continued to foul Drummond — he shot 5-for-16 over 3 minutes — and they eventually took the lead.

Van Gundy stayed with Drummond for a few extra possessions because he liked the idea of key Rockets players being in foul trouble.

But the scene went totally against the spirit of a normally free-flowing game that’s fun to watch.

Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson was visibly agitated during the game and pretty much said so later, wondering aloud why Van Gundy didn’t pull Drummond sooner.

Opposing teams frequently have used the tactic against the Pistons this season, but the Rockets took it to the extreme.

The game became talk-show fodder, with some calling on the league to address the tactic that slows the game’s pace.

Some were critical of Drummond, saying he needed to learn to make his free throws.

But there’s universal agreement that it’s a sound strategy.

With the rise of analytics, it makes sense to send Drummond to the line since he misses two of every three shots.

“Am I a huge fan of it? No, but our job as coaches is to use every rule within the rule book to your advantage to try to win a game,” Nuggets coach Mike Malone said. “If Andre Drummond is shooting 35% from the foul line, and Reggie or Brandon (Jennings) or Ersan (Ilyasova) has it going, guess what? I’d rather have Andre Drummond go to the foul line to shoot two free throws.

“What’s really interesting is you hear from all the Houston players after that game that they did not like it. It killed their flow. It killed their rhythm. We’ll use it, but I’m not the biggest fan of it. But until they change the rule, it’s something that we’ll employ when the situation is right for us to use it.”

‘Bit disrespectful’

Drummond was in a good mood Monday at Vivint Smart Home Arena.

The morning shoot-around to prepare for the Jazz that evening was over, and Drummond was working on free-throw shooting.

He joked with personnel staff, but he made more than he missed.

Preachin' Pistons podcast: Actually underachieving?

After throwing up a few half-court shots (he missed them all), he spoke to reporters about his free-throw shooting woes.

He understands the criticism. He expects it as long as he keeps struggling.

But he does get ticked when someone who isn’t near the situation assumes he doesn’t work at it.

“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. But I probably take more time than they do their jobs shooting free throws. So for somebody to say that, it’s a little bit disrespectful to me.

“Nobody’s there 24/7 and knows what I’m doing. It is what it is, so I’ll just keep working on my game, and when that day comes, they won’t have anything negative to say.”

Pistons fans are accustomed to poor free-throw shooting.

Ben Wallace, who saw his jersey retired this month, put up a 33.6% season with the Pistons in 2000-01. Wallace was a career 41.4% shooter.

Van Gundy has to coach around the situation, but he has experience. He also has coached notoriously bad free-throw shooters Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard.

There is one aspect of the situation that draws a chuckle from Van Gundy.

People always offer advice saying they can identify the problem — like Van Gundy and Drummond don’t know the problem.

“What people miss is that they think that they could do a better job and help him because they can identify what he’s doing wrong as if we can’t,” Van Gundy said. “Everybody knows what he’s doing wrong. He knows what he’s doing wrong. That’s not the problem.”

Finding the solution

Most of the problem is mechanical, which bring us back to the technology Drummond was wearing.

It’s called Solidshot.

Scooter Barry, a former Kansas standout who played professionally, is director of business development for the start-up based in Silicon Valley.

Van Gundy was talking with Scooter’s father, NBA Hall of Famer and all-time great free-throw shooter Rick Barry, when he mentioned the company.

Pistons' Van Gundy takes shot at free throw zealots

Van Gundy invited Scooter Barry to present the technology at Sunday’s practice. It provides real-time feedback on the optimal angle and all aspects of free-throw shooting form.

Scooter Barry and Van Gundy confirmed to the Free Press that the company and the Pistons are discussing using the tech to help with shooting mechanics.

“So now he has the feedback that my elbow is creeping out,” Van Gundy said. “That’s why we’re looking at this thing because it can give him more than just keep your elbow in. He can really look and see. So we’ll see if what he’s selling can help.”

So what happens if this doesn’t work?

When Drummond warms up, he does this drill where he shoots with one hand near the front of the rim. Being so close to the rim forces arc on the ball. But it gives you an idea that he eventually could try shooting one-handed.

The late Anthony Mason, a forward who spent 13 seasons in NBA, found success that way.

The Pistons also could take up Rick Barry’s public promise of being able to improve any poor free-throw shooter.

Drummond understands the problem, but solving it remains tricky.

“Do the same routine every time and trusting the shot,” Drummond said. “I’m constantly thinking, and now it’s to the point I got to find one good groove.

“I’ve worked on this all summer, my whole career, so it’s bound to come where I get into a good groove and find something that works.”

Contact Vince Ellis at vellis@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @vincent_ellis56.

Download our Pistons Xtra app on iTunes or Android!

Ellis: Van Gundy tells players what they must hear

SVG: Jackson had best defensive effort as Piston Monday

Detroit Bad Boys: Time for NBA to change its rules