The Pistons won their sixth straight game since waiving Josh Smith last night, and it came against the defending champion Spurs, 105-104. After Brandon Jennings put the Pistons ahead 105-104 with just 0.1 seconds left, Stan Van Gundy was very clear about Detroit’s defense on the final play.
Thanks to the Trent Tucker Rule, which passed after the 1989-90 season, “The game clock and shot clock must show :00.3 or more in order for a player to secure possession of the ball on a rebound or throw-in to attempt a field goal.”
So Derek Fisher‘s prayer against the Spurs in 2004 counted since there were 0.4 seconds left, but anything under that — including the 0.1 seconds left in the Spurs – Pistons game last night — has to be tipped in.
Hence, Van Gundy’s insistence the Pistons “just form a f**king wall,” around the basket since only a lob at the rim would have counted with so little time remaining after Jennings’ go-ahead bucket.
//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js
That’s exactly what his team did and they got the win:
Stan Van Gundy is your cranky grandfather, or your crass uncle; he’s someone who cuts right through the bull**** and says what he thinks without a filter, which means language that’s totally appropriate on the sideline in a big moment of an NBA game.
What do you think?
Follow Dime on Twitter at @DimeMag.
Become a fan of Dime Magazine on Facebook HERE.
