Drummond admits 'Hack-a-Dre' forced him to improve free throws

Andre Drummond doesn't fear the charity stripe any more.

Throughout his six-year career, the Detroit Pistons center had earned a dubious reputation in the league for being unable to convert his free throws, leading opponents to repeatedly intentionally foul him in close games in an effort to reduce Detroit's leads, a strategy colloquially dubbed "Hack-a-Dre" after the same tactic used against Shaquille O'Neal during his playing days.

After averaging just 38.1 percent from the line in his first five seasons, however, Drummond swore to improve over the summer, and he looks to have done just that, upping his free-throw rate to 63.1 percent so far. Still, he admits the constant preying on his maligned shooting woes managed to hamper him in other ways on the court.

"Absolutely. Who wants to go to the line unsure if they'll make the shot? That's never a fun feeling," Drummond told Bleacher Report's Vincent Goodwill. "And it's not fun not playing aggressive, not attacking the basket because if you get fouled, you're not sure if you'll make the free throws. It took away my aggression."

Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy, who had to remove the dominant big man from games last season to keep opponents from exploiting his glaring weakness, believes Drummond's improvements now drastically alter his team's strategy when closing out tight contests.

"I don't have any plans of taking him out, even if somebody starts (intentionally fouling him)," Van Gundy told Goodwill. "I think it's for real. That changes our whole ability to coach in games, keeping him on the floor.

"I totally believe in him. I'm very confident in him. One of the things that's helped him a lot, he has a greater confidence as a player, just knowing he can make free throws."