Alvin Gentry lashes out at « dumb rule » costing the Kings dearly | NBA

 » Oh damn it! He said before throwing his tablet on his bench. The arbitration decision was very difficult to pass for Alvin Gentry and his camp. There are precisely 24.8 seconds to play in this Lakers – Kings when Malik Monk misses his second free throw. His team then leads by five points (119-114). His teammates do not play the offensive rebound. De’Aaron Fox, who is the only one rising towards the circle, only has to pick the ball.

The leader finally decides not to touch the leather, which falls to the ground, probably hoping to be able to grab a few seconds of possession. The concern is that the stopwatch is nevertheless started by the scorer’s table. The referees must stop play to reset the stopwatch to 24.8 seconds.

Which is done, but as the officials prepare to give the visitors a throw-in, they get together to re-analyze the situation and plunge all the players into the dark. All in all, it will be… an in-between! The Kings coach can be all the more furious that LeBron James will win this jump ball.

The referees indeed considered that when the game was stopped, neither one nor the other team was in possession of the leather … The regulations provide that in the event of a « dead ball » (when the ball is not in play therefore), the game can thus be restarted by a jump ball, but also by a throw-in or a free throw.

Either way, the error at the root of the situation came from the scorer’s table and Sacramento was on the verge of reclaiming possession.

 » The referees applied the rule as it is ”, still rants Alvin Gentry after the meeting, anticipating the journalists’ question on the subject. “If anything needs to be changed, that’s the rule. There must be some common sense. We had the ball, they started the clock. We did not trigger it ourselves. It was not our mistake. And so we were punished by a stupid rule. It’s all that matters. But it has nothing to do with the referees. They did exactly what they were supposed to do. « 

Relaunched on the subject, the coach repeats that he does not want the officials but this rule. Sufficient precaution to avoid a fine from the league?