Monty Williams Storms Off After Rant Following Pistons vs. Knicks
The Detroit Pistons entered Monday’s game against the New York Knicks frustrated with the way their previous game played out.
Over the weekend, the Pistons hosted the Orlando Magic and engaged in a tight matchup that went down to the wire. On the final possession of the game, Orlando’s Paolo Banchero managed to draw a foul before making an impressive shot with less than a second left to go.
Banchero didn’t need the bucket because he was getting a trip to the line no matter what. The fact that he managed to get a whistle in that position frustrated Pistons head coach Monty Williams. After comparing Orlando’s fouls with Detroit’s, Williams sounded off publicly.
“I mean, look at our starting group,” said the head coach. “We got ten free throws from our starting [group]. That’s really hard to do in a game that handsy and physical. I’m not trying to be disrespectful or get a fine, I’m just stating facts. I speak two languages: English and facts. That’s what I’m seeing. It’s hard. Our guys are frustrated with it. I’m trying to keep them at this place of poise. When you look at this thing night in and night out — 13 free throws in a physical game like that is hard to swallow.”
When Williams walked off on Saturday night, he repeated the fact that his team had just 13 free throws, adding some extra spice to his frustration aimed toward the officiating.
On Monday night, following the Pistons’ loss to the Knicks, the head coach outdid himself.
Williams’ frustrations on Monday stemmed from another critical late-game situation that didn’t play out in the Pistons’ favor. Instead of Detroit getting whistled for a foul, Williams believed his team should’ve benefitted from one.
Holding a one-point lead, the Pistons came up big with a steal in the final ten seconds of the matchup. Detroit rookie Ausar Thompson was running in transition when New York’s Donte DiVincenzo dove for the ball, tripping up Thompson.
As a result, the Knicks got the ball back and managed to get a bucket and an And-1 foul call to take the lead with just two seconds left to go. The Pistons went from sealing the deal to losing the game.
“The absolute worst call of the season,” a fired-up Williams said unprompted after the game. “No call. Enough’s enough. We’ve done it the right way. We’ve called the league, we’ve sent in clips, we’re sick of hearing the same stuff over and over again. We had a chance to win the game, and the guy dove into Ausar’s legs. There was a no-call. That’s an abomination. You cannot miss that in an NBA game. Period. I’m tired of talking about it. I’m tired of our guys asking me what more we can do, coach. That situation is Exhibit A to what we’ve been dealing with all season long. Enough’s enough. You cannot dive into a guy’s legs in a big-time game like that and there be a no-call. It’s ridiculous, and we’re tired of it. We just want a fair game called. Period. I got nothing else to say. We want a fair game. That was not fair. I’m done.”
Williams stormed off without taking any questions.
The Knicks ended up collecting a 113-111 victory at Madison Square Garden over the Pistons. While Detroit led New York in free throw attempts, picking up 26 for the night, the call that Williams wanted to see resulted in silent whistles.
