Sports

Yashinsky: Pistons Free Throw Nightmare Returns

October 13, 2014, 11:45 AM by  Joey Yashinsky

The year 2014 was thought to be a new beginning for the Detroit Pistons.

Stan Van Gundy was brought in to run the show.

Serviceable free agents like Jodie Meeks, D.J. Augustin, and Caron Butler were added to the mix.

Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe would hopefully find their groove on the inside, dominating the paint together on a nightly basis.

But as we found out over the weekend, one very pesky problem remains. 

They still can’t shoot free throws.

It was a massive issue last year.  And after yesterday’s tight 91-89 pre-season loss in Washington was highlighted by a ghastly 9-for-22 effort at the line, it’s looking like 2014-15 will be another season marked by a host of bricked freebies. 

Remember, there are 30 teams in the NBA.

Last year, 29 of those 30 shot above 70% from the line.  Such a number is virtually a given at the NBA level. 

The Pistons registered dead last, at 67%. 

There were a number of teams that shot either above, or right around 80 percent, so finishing the year well under 70 is not just disappointing -- it’s embarrassing.

The Pistons won just 29 games last year, losing 53, and a number of the close-but-no-cigar affairs could have been secured much earlier with even average results at the charity stripe.

Missed Opportunity This Summer

The hope was that a budding star like Andre Drummond would have devoted his entire summer to learning and honing a functional free throw stroke, but like his predecessor Ben Wallace, this does not appear to be the case.

Drummond hoisted 10 free throws in the nail-biter loss Sunday afternoon.  He connected on three.  It marred an otherwise sterling performance (9-for-9 shooting from the field). 

The aforementioned Wallace famously played 16 years in the NBA.  In exactly zero of those seasons did he ever reach or eclipse the 50% mark from the free throw line. 

It’s impossible to deny that Big Ben spent countless hours throughout his career sculpting his body, staying in top shape, keeping himself well-conditioned.  It is similarly undeniable that Wallace did not care nearly enough about changing or improving his broken technique at the line. 

It’s not just that he was inept.  He was inept with the same form, same strategy, same approach, year after year after year.  It was the definition of insanity brought to a basketball court.

The concern is that Drummond might be following that same frustration-filled path.  It’s too early to predict a matching 16-year streak of FT ineptitude, but through two seasons, he’s posted a 37% and a 42%.  Yesterday’s 3-of-10 from the big man is not the most encouraging statistic in the world.

Not Just One Culprit

To be fair, the Pistons’ problem is not isolated to just Drummond.  Moose Monroe always manages to clang two or three a night.  Josh Smith’s marksmanship gets significantly worse with each passing year.  Brandon Jennings was over 80% in each of his four years as a Milwaukee Buck, only to dip to the mid-70’s during year one in Detroit.

Van Gundy’s squad looks to be moderately improved from last year, but it does not take a basketball savant to recognize this will not be an NBA juggernaut. 

They will need to take care of business against the dregs of the league and hope to steal a few along the way from everyone else.  In all likelihood, many of these W’s will be down-to-the-wire affairs with only a possession or two making the difference.

In those scenarios, you must convert at the free throw line.  Collecting nine points on 22 attempts will simply not suffice. 

It’s just the pre-season, but the Sunday loss to Washington, by two points with 13 missed opportunities, is a dangerous piece of foreshadowing heading into such an important year for the franchise.

Detroit has not seen playoff basketball of any kind since 2009.  A single playoff victory hasn’t been celebrated since 2008.

It’s time to finally start turning the corner and returning to NBA respectability.

The journey begins on a line positioned 15 feet from the hoop.

Alone, unguarded, and in serious need of immediate improvement.



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