Hack-a-Shaq tactic helps send Andre Drummond, Pistons into 3-0 hole

1:25 AM ET

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Andre Drummond wore a look of frustration as he sat on the bench throughout the final moments of the Detroit Pistons’ 101-91 Game 3 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.

Who could blame him?

Everybody knows the fatal flaw of his game. It’s on display every night — only now it’s on a larger stage for the world to see: Drummond is a poor free throw shooter. Historically bad. He’s shooting 38 percent from the free throw line for his career and is 6-for-24 over the three games of this series. The talented, young big man played only 93 seconds of the final 12 minutes of Friday’s game. Coach Stan Van Gundy pulled Drummond for good after he was intentionally fouled and missed two more free throws with the Pistons down 90-86 with 6:02 remaining. He just sat there and watched as the Cavaliers closed the game, and probably the series, without him on the floor. The win gave Cleveland a 3-0 series lead.

About 20 minutes after the game ended, Van Gundy sat at the podium wearing a similar look of anguish as Drummond. For the third straight game, Dummond, the Pistons’ best player, was a non-factor down the stretch. When asked about his decision to not bring Drummond back in the game late, Van Gundy vented his anger toward both the center and the entire situation.

“Yeah, because you can’t do anything with him,” Van Gundy said. “He can’t run to set a screen, he can’t do anything. You’ve just got opportunities to foul him. Now would they have [worked]? I don’t know. But I gave him one possession — we’re behind. We can’t go down and play for zero points. Even though we did, we just, we can’t do that. He had energy, but [Cavs center] Tristan Thompson had eight offensive rebounds. Hardly a dominant performance.”

Van Gundy was angry about the fact that his team was outrebounded by 14. He was mad his young squad is on the verge of elimination, and he’s upset because nobody seems to have the right answer to fix the question that has torpedoed Drummond’s effectiveness late in games as it pertains to the Hack-a-Shaq tactic.

Andre Drummond is just 6-for-24 from the foul line, including 1-for-6 on Friday night, through three games of the Pistons’ playoff series with the Cavaliers. Tim Fuller/USA TODAY Sports

Van Gundy himself was asked about the issue earlier in the day. …

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