The Detroit Pistons have won seven of their last nine games, and they are now very close to clinching their first playoff appearance since the 2008-09 season. With five games left on their schedule the Pistons are tied with the Pacers for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference while the Bulls are two games back.
With a spot nearly locked up, the Pistons can start to focus a little bit on preparation for the playoffs and getting their rotation settled. One of the biggest problems Detroit might face come playoff time is its star center's inability to make free throws. Andre Drummond is making just 33 percent of his attempts at the charity stripe this season, and head coach Stan Van Gundy won't just allow that to happen moving forward.
While Drummond's free throw shooting has been dreadful all season, it has actually been even worse over the last two games. The 22-year-old center has made just three of his 20 free throw attempts in the last two games and has been benched both times. Van Gundy said he won't hesitate to continue benching Drummond if he doesn't start knocking down some free throws.
"He was 1-for-10 and he made the decision easy tonight," Van Gundy said. "In a close game like that, back and forth, we can't be playing hoping for one point at most when they're playing for two or three. You can't do that; you're putting way too much pressure on your defense."
Van Gundy makes a good point when he says the missed free throws put too much pressure on the defense. When opposing teams are intentionally fouling Drummond and he continues to miss, it makes it even more important for the defense to get stops because the Pistons can't really score.
This is an unfortunate problem for the Pistons to have to deal with because Drummond is a dominant force when he is not on the free throw line. The former UConn star made his first All-Star game appearance this season and is averaging 16.5 points, 14.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game in his third NBA season. Detroit needs Drummond on the floor for his rebounding and his ability to dominate inside, but it is hard to keep a guy on the floor who puts his team in such a bad situation by missing so many free throws.
The most puzzling thing about all of this is the fact that Van Gundy says Drummond has been working feverishly on improving from the line and has shown progress in practice. Van Gundy said that in practice Drummond makes about 70 percent of his free throws, but it just hasn't translated to the games. At this point it is clearly a mental thing for Drummond at the free throw line, and it is not only a concern for the rest of this season but also moving forward as this one flaw can hold him back from reaching his true potential.