If you were their coach, would you make Drummond or Jordan shoot underhand?

[Bluehorseshoe]

Louisville's Chinanu Onuaku is shooting underhand this year for the first time. In his last 3 games, he's shot 11-14 from the free throw line.

I don't give a shit on how bad it looks, these guys make millions. They need to try something.

[RudyRuetigger]

Just let them fukkin try jump shots

[THE HITMAN]

Undies

[Mr KLC]

[Bluehorseshoe]

[new era]

I would make the practice shooting them. These guys are paid to play basketball... learn to penetrating shoot.

[t-wizzle]

It's a great question. Their egos are to big to try it but it's a great question. If it could bump their percentages by, say 20% then they're being selfish for not trying.

[rake922]

Yes... If I was Jordan I would be ashamed and feel guilty of how many times I have cost the team the win

Jordan makes like 20 mil now.. imagine if he was a 77% FT shooter

[rake922]

Sick

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39cEPAgfAsQ

[BuckyOne]

To make a point - I would make Jordan and Drummond run out of bounds and stay there on the change of possession. Play offense 4 on 5 . Play goalie - eliminate fast breaks for the other team. I honestly don't think they would do any better underhand - they both have the touch of a jackhammer!

[rake922]

You see this one?

[Bluehorseshoe]

Sick

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39cEPAgfAsQ

I've been following him ever since he announced he was doing it. lol

[44 Mag]

Louisville's Chinanu Onuaku is shooting underhand this year for the first time. In his last 3 games, he's shot 11-14 from the free throw line.

I don't give a shit on how bad it looks, these guys make millions. They need to try something.

Drummond should be allowed a "DH".

[TheMoneyShot]

You know how dominant Drummond would be if he would make 70% of his free throws?

How fukking hard is it to make free throws?

I guess it's just a part of the game now? Dennis Rodman was a good player... sucked at free throws. Ben Wallace was a good player... sucked at free throws. I guess you just live with it?

I say it's BS that they say these players are shooting 1000 free throws on their off days etc. They aren't even trying to practice.

[teecee]

How about calling intentional fouls when you foul intentionally? I guess that is too much to ask. No one wants to watch that shit.

[unde0087]

Well that is in college, this is the nba where as we saw just days ago a coach get fired because of a player. It is true that there is zero excuse for being a shitty ft shooter but it's always going to be like that. Players run the league not coaches

[ttwarrior1]

i posted the solution to this years and years ago,

Its simple. A basketball feels very light to big strong tall guy. What they need to do is get a better feel for the ball.
They need to practice shooting freethrows with a lighter ball into a smaller hoop.
thats it? Pretty much. This will make the ball feel heavier and basket look bigger while shooting freethrows .

Sometimes a basketball almost feels like you shooting a paper towel into the basket. You ever missed by 3 feet before?

[UntilTheNDofTimE]

How about calling intentional fouls when you foul intentionally? I guess that is too much to ask. No one wants to watch that shit.

Thats the argument right now. But why should the NBAchange a rule because of 2-3 players? They are taking away a competitive advantage a team has.

What's next? Should it automatically be an offensive foul if someone bigger than you posts up?

Should a a short player get the ball back out of bounds after he's blocked by a taller player?

Free throws are a fundamental part of the game. You're expected to be able to make them. In not a professional player but I make 80% of my free throws. All it takes is practice.

[IBetYou]

They're kids. THey'd be more embarrassed shooting under handed at 60% than normally at 40%. I reckon if one did it others would follow. Kids!

[SBRMAN23]

i dont get why most of them dont try to go further back at the line most of the FTs are too strong or long. Step back

[Seto]

To make a point - I would make Jordan and Drummond run out of bounds and stay there on the change of possession. Play offense 4 on 5 . Play goalie - eliminate fast breaks for the other team. I honestly don't think they would do any better underhand - they both have the touch of a jackhammer!

Is this actually a serious suggestion? Their respective team's offenses would be laughable without their screen-setting and the threat of the roll/alley-oop. Not to mention any basketball team's offense would be laughable playing 4 on 5.

[lilpete]

they need to get rid of the hack-a-shaq rule

[Bluehorseshoe]

they need to get rid of the hack-a-shaq rule

I don't agree. The other team has a weakness so you take advantage of it.

[BuckyOne]

Is this actually a serious suggestion? Their respective team's offenses would be laughable without their screen-setting and the threat of the roll/alley-oop. Not to mention any basketball team's offense would be laughable playing 4 on 5.

Well ten possessions - brick layer makes 4 free throws - that is what is laughable - The other team makes at least 10 points with their ten possessions. At least if he is out of bounds they can get a time out called to put a sub in. I think they can do better than 4 points in ten possessions playing 4 on 5 - fast break every time and bomb it - press on the made bucket - you have a goalie.

There has to be a better solution than leaving these mutts in the game and have them butcher the free throws. Run them along the freaking sideline all the way to under the basket - technical if you get fouled out of bounds - right? Somebody, will have to guard him - especially, if he is out of bounds under the basket - defensive 3 seconds??? That would get interesting?

Watch them change that rule fast? Get a tactic that is even a bigger joke than hacking the player every time. These coaches are doing nothing to combat the hack strategy - nothing - just standing there and shaking their head - come on man - wake up - figure something out.

[Bluehorseshoe]

Louisville's Chinanu Onuaku is shooting underhand this year for the first time. In his last 3 games, he's shot 11-14 from the free throw line.

I don't give a shit on how bad it looks, these guys make millions. They need to try something.

15-20 last 6 games now.

[teecee]

I guess I don't understand what constitutes an intentional foul. If it's not staring down the referees while you tap the worst free throw shooter 8 times, I don't know what is. I always thought that type of foul got you 2 free throws and the ball to inbound.

[Mr KLC]

I would think it would b an advantage for the first NBA player to start shooting free throws "granny style". Can you see the potential endorsements they would receive if they promoted this properly?

[Bluehorseshoe]

To fight hacking, Drummond to consider underhand free throws

Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond is willing to consider a throwback free throw style to improve a glaring hole in his game, according to coach Stan Van Gundy.

"As far as shooting underhand or anything else, it's fair to say my discussion with Andre yesterday and the discussions [general manager] Jeff [Bower] and I have had and staff -- everything is on the table," Van Gundy said Thursday, according to The Detroit News.

Drummond shot 35.5 percent from the free throw line this season, a career-worst average, while going to the line a career-high 7.2 times per game. It was the worst free throw shooting season in NBA history.

The first-time All-Star in 2015-16 often spent the end of games on the bench, as his poor free throw shooting make him a detriment to the Pistons in clutch situations as teams targeted him for hacking fouls.

So the Pistons will look at all options to improve Drummond's free throw shooting and make him a viable threat at the end of games.

"It won't be a unilateral decision," Van Gundy said. "We'll do some research on some things and come up with what we think is a good approach, talk to Andre and see what he thinks and develop an approach going forward.

"We all know it's an important thing -- Andre more than any of us -- he's pretty open to anything. There's a lot of ways to attack this problem, and we'll all have a hand in it."
Andre Drummond missed 378 free throws during the regular season while shooting a career-low 35.5 percent from the line. Sam Forencich/NBAE/Getty Images

Part of the problem is taking practice success into games. Drummond says he shoots free throws "really good" outside of games, and Van Gundy estimates that his practice conversion rate is 65 percent.

"It's just hard, for whatever reason, to translate from the practice floor to the game," Van Gundy told ESPN's Tom Haberstroh. "Look, you're standing there by yourself, with the game stopped, and everybody's watching. Let's say a guy misses a jump shot. The play goes to the other end, and everyone's focused on what's happening there. But Andre's standing there at the free throw line, all everybody's talking about who's watching the game is his free throw shooting. It's hard. It's really hard."

Drummond is in line for a max contract extension this summer, and Pistons owner Tom Gores has said he is willing to give the 22-year-old big money.

The underhand free throw technique was popularized in the 1970s by Hall of Famer Rick Barry, who shot 90 percent from the free throw line in eight NBA seasons.

"The one thing we do know is the traditional approach and nothing else, of simply trying to correct mechanics and go in the gym and shoot a lot of free throws, has not worked," Van Gundy said Thursday. "So we've got to [try something] else. We've got to be a little more creative in how we approach it."

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/15425744/andre-drummond-detroit-pistons-willing-consider-underhand-free-throws-coach-stan-van-gundy-says

[KVB]

A foul committed on purpose should be considered intentional and not only should there be free throws, but the team should get to keep possession, or something.

Coaches and teams should not be able to blatantly break a rule as part a strategy to win. A foul should be something teams should aim to avoid, not do intentionally, and the punishment for breaking the rule should be harsh enough to discourage the behavior.

These "hack-a-so and so" strategies are bullshit, in my opinion.

Why call it a foul when it's just a normal part of the play where the victim, despite being fouled, still has to earn something.

In my opinion, there should be hefty punishment, if not fines, for those who foul intentionally in the last minutes with the purpose of extending the game.

That type of foul is both blatant and intentional, it should be treated as such.

[No coincidences]

Without question.

[No coincidences]

i dont get why most of them dont try to go further back at the line most of the FTs are too strong or long. Step back

It's not that they're too strong. Aside from the mental hurdle, they struggle because the ball is so small in their hands. It'd be like most of us shooting a mini-basketball or even a tennis ball.

They can't make free throws because it's hard to get rotation on the ball at their size (both hand size and height; basically shooting down at the rim). Thus, the underhanded approach.

[Bluehorseshoe]

It got him a tryout with the Rockets.....

https://streamable.com/nzg0?t=0.2

[Bluehorseshoe]

How is this less embarrassing than shooting underhand???

[blackHIPPY]

both jordan and drummond shoot em 70% during practice like its nothin

[Mr KLC]

How is this less embarrassing than shooting underhand???

I love how he's laughing about it. I wonder if he would have the same reaction if he did it in game 7 of the conference finals.