After blasting the officiating following Monday’s loss to New York for “the absolute worst call of the season,” Pistons head coach Monty Williams stood by his comments on Tuesday, according to a report from ESPN.com.
“I think I said enough last night,” Williams said before Detroit’s win over Chicago. “I’m not of the mindset of creating or building up an argument against the NBA or the officials. I was talking about an isolated incident last night, and I’ll stand on what I said and what I saw after the game. As I told our guys today, we have to move past it but learn from it.”
Given that it’s been nearly two full days since Williams aired his grievances about the officiating, it looks like the NBA has elected not to fine him for those comments.
Here’s more from the Central:
- Pistons wing Quentin Grimes, who was acquired from New York at the trade deadline, could help solve some of Detroit’s issues, says James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. As Edwards explains, the Pistons previously had a couple of very good wing shooters in Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks who struggled defensively. Grimes, on the other hand, is younger, more athletic, and far superior on defense compared to those two departed veterans, while still being able to space the floor. Edwards highlights (via video) some of Grimes’ impressive defensive techniques and instincts, and thinks the 23-year-old could be a long-term fixture in Detroit moving forward.
- Speaking of upgrades on defense, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer details how head coach Doc Rivers has had a positive impact on the Bucks since he replaced Adrian Griffin. According to O’Connor, Milwaukee looks like a much more cohesive unit defensively under Rivers, with game plans that change depending on the matchup. The Bucks only held opponents to under 100 points once in 43 games under Griffin, but have done so four times in the past seven games with Rivers at the helm, O’Connor notes.
- Various injuries — including a broken jaw — have led to a frustrating season for Cavaliers guard Darius Garland. As Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes (in a subscriber-only story), fans have been critical of Garland since he returned to action at the end of last month. After Sunday’s victory over Washington, in which Garland made some key shots to help turn the momentum around, Donovan Mitchell defended his backcourt mate. “The kid has done a lot here,” Mitchell told Fedor. “So much. For it to be devalued all for a few games is complete B.S. It’s not fair to him. He’s done so much for us as a team. Before I got here. While I’ve been here. He’s going to get back to his form. The kid is 24 years old. It’s not always easy to figure out a fit. He has done a phenomenal job of it and will continue to get back to it. Come playoff time, he will be right there with us. We have his back.”
27 yr old calling a 24 yr old a kid?
Not being a homer but if the Cavs can make a deeper run in the playoffs then I think Mitchell might really give thought to staying in Cleveland. I’m not 100% sure we should assume he’d go To the Knicks. He and Brunson are too similar. Not sure if they would mesh well and still be all of what they’ve become.
That will be a concern regarding Mitchell with any scoring PG, including Garland, but to a lesser extent. Good chance that Mitchell would probably also play 1/3 of the minutes without Brunson (bench rest). Occasionally a day off for Brunson, etc. But the way Donte is playing, not sure if the Knicks even pursue him and focus the money on other areas like the bench and retaining Hartenstein and Prince A.
Not clear he’s a target for the knicks as much as he’d just “like” to be in NY, which who knows how he actually feels vs. the media/agents/etc.
There’s always the Nets, if he’s hungry for a big apple. Not sure what that deal looks like but probably more a more realistic destination. More likely? No clue.
NYK, like any team, would love to sign Mitchell if he were a free agent and they had cap space. But that’s unlikely to be the case. Most likely, if Mitchell doesn’t extend with CLE this off season, CLE will look to trade him while he still has a guaranteed year left on his deal.
Based on their current roster, it’s hard to see the NYK being the highest bidder. But that could change, as soon as this off season. The NYK’s direction may depend on what happens in the playoffs, or, if guys don’t make it back, it might not. Either way, their 3 most important (expensive) players will likely be looking for new contracts. Brunson and Randle are both extension eligible, and Anunoby is an UFA. So is Hartenstein. If they don’t think there is enough star power on the roster to win a championship, they can’t just re-up all 4 guys without a plan, which almost has to include a mini reset at least at the top of the roster.
No doubt the Pistons got hosed against the Knicks, but got to love Monty attacking the refs like it’s their fault that the Pistons are 9-49. Consistently bad play and coaching, occasional bad call.
Well, it kind of is. Without the no call in NY they would be 10-48, lol.Seriously though, I think he was still chagrined about the Clippers game when the Pistons lost by 6 and the free through disparity was 26-7. There is no doubt that good teams get a different whistle than teams that are struggling.