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Pistons' Drummond not interested in underhanded free-throws

Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

Back in April, Detroit Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy suggested that "everything" was on the table for Andre Drummond - including taking underhand free throws - in an attempt to improve the center's moribund foul shooting.

That sounds like it can be crossed off the list of possibilities, Drummond told the Hartford Courant's Dom Amore over the weekend.

"I'm going to stick with the formula I have now," Drummond said, adding that he's been more focused this summer on post work.

"I'm just really just continuing to work on back-to-the-basket stuff."

Related: Drummond 'found something that works' to improve free-throw shooting

Drummond shot 35.5 percent from the charity stripe this season, a career low.

To put it into perspective, that's well below other maligned big man free-throw shooters like DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard. Even Shaquille O'Neal never shot under 40 percent from the line. The issue became a liability of sorts during Detroit's first-round playoff exit when Drummond was forced to sit key stretches in order to avoid the Cleveland Cavaliers' hacking strategy.

The last high-profile player to shoot free throws underhanded was Rick Barry in the 1970s. As peculiar as it looked, the Hall of Famer had a near-90 percent conversion rate in his career.

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