Andre Drummond practiced free throws after the Suns game because he didn’t want to leave the arena with a bad taste in his mouth.
Vince Ellis, Detroit Free Press
Andre Drummond was getting dressed Sunday evening when a thought crossed his mind.
After his free throw shooting disaster in the Detroit Pistons’ 118-107 victory over the Phoenix Suns, he needed to get some shots up.
It was back to the court.
Under the watchful eyes of assistant coach Tim Grugurich, Drummond practiced free throws on the floor, allowing those late in leaving Little Caesars Arena to witness the Pistons center's attempt to rectify a problem he will likely have to address his entire career.
“I’m just going to put my clothes back on and at least shoot just 20 because I can’t leave on that note,” Drummond said of his 1-for-8 performance at the line.
“Even though we had a good game and I played well, I didn’t want to leave with that taste in my mouth of just missing that many because it’s been a while since I’ve missed that many in a row, so I just wanted to get a couple up.
“Let’s not keep that in my head. Let’s try to get some up, see the ball go in and move on from it.”
Drummond scored 19 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in just under 31 minutes, but was benched for the final 4:23 after Suns coach Igor Kokoskov had players intentionally foul Drummond twice in three possessions.
Drummond was 1-for-4, but with a nine-point lead, Pistons coach Dwane Casey played it safe and brought in Langston Galloway.
“If we’re getting stops, OK, we’ll go with him, but they were coming down and hitting 3s,” Casey said. “That’s not a good deal so that was the main reason why we took him out because as much as anything else, we need a little more stops and that’s going to be an ongoing thing.
“The way to (stop being benched) is knock your free throws down.”
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The sequence was reminiscent of Drummond's first five years in the NBA when he was one of the worst free throw shooters in league history. Four of those five seasons he was less than 40 percent from the line.
He improved to 60 percent last season.
Even after the rough outing, he’s at 51 percent this season.
He’s playing the most consistent basketball of his career, averaging 19.5 points,16.1 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.3 steals per game.
Despite the excellence of Blake Griffin, Drummond leads the Pistons in win shares.
But he remains vigilant.
He got in extra attempts following practice.
“I got frustrated for the first time because I was doing everything the same, but it wasn’t just going in, so I just had to go back out there again to regroup, reset my mind and get back in that flow again,” Drummond said.
First look at Ayton
Suns rookie center Deandre Ayton impressed Drummond.
He scored 25 points and added 13 rebounds and three blocks in 32 minutes.
It was Drummond’s first time going against the No. 1 overall pick.
“He’s a good player,” Drummond said. “He has a lot of room to grow, needs to get a little bit stronger, he moves his feet very well and very aware defensively. I think it will be a great matchup in years to come, playing against him.”
Ayton is 20.
Drummond was 18 as a rookie and admitted playing against Ayton brought back memories of his first season.
He’s now 25.
“He’s ready to go,” Drummond said. “It’s only going to get better from here, him being in the NBA playing against guys like myself.”
Notes: Casey said Luke Kennard, who has missed 13 games with a right shoulder injury, still isn’t competing in full-contact drills. … The Pistons announced a ticket promotion Monday through Dec. 24. Starting at $150 in the upper level and $300 in the lower level, the package includes two tickets to any three regular season games using the Pistons Mobile App (based on availability). In addition to the tickets, each pack includes a signed Blake Griffin hat and three months of unlimited car washes from Jax Kar Wash.
To purchase, visit www.pistons.com.
Follow Vince Ellis on Twitter @vincent_ellis56.