Stan Van Gundy sarcastically shades delay on NBA officiating reviews: "Fans LOVE watching referees stand at the monitor"
Former NBA coach-turned-TNT analyst Stan Van Gundy seemingly wasn't a fan of Tuesday's Western Conference finals Game 4 officiating. The 64-year-old humorously called out the referees numerous times, including during an extended third-quarter review.
With 8:28 remaining in the third period, the officiating crew chief, headlined by veteran official Scott Foster, went to the replay monitor. They reviewed a brief altercation between Minnesota Timberwolves star center Rudy Gobert and Dallas Mavericks forward Derrick Jones Jr.
The original call was a technical foul on Jones, who attempted to set a screen on Gobert before their short scuffle. However, Foster noted that his crew wanted to check if a hostile act was committed during the play.
The referees reviewed Gobert and Jones' top-of-the-key tussle several times. Meanwhile, Van Gundy and his broadcast partner, Indiana Pacers legend Reggie Miller, remarked about the play not being review-worthy.
"I don't think there's a hostile act," Miller said.
"There's nothing there," Van Gundy added.
The review continued, with Miller calling for the officiating crew to call "double technical" fouls and "move on." Van Gundy then sarcastically quipped about how much NBA fans enjoy watching referees take extended time to review plays.
"We're taking way too much time here," Van Gundy said. "Though, I've heard from a lot of fans, they LOVE watching referees stand at the monitor and watch replays."
After nearly three minutes of review time, Foster announced double technical fouls on Gobert and Jones, as Miller and Van Gundy predicted. The former coach later pointed out how the whole replay could have been avoided, as the call was fairly obvious.
"Well, that took a lot of time for much ado about nothing," Van Gundy said.
Unnecessarily long reviews have long been a primary complaint among fans. Fortunately for those who tuned into Tuesday's broadcast, Stan Van Gundy was around to provide comic relief during the dead airtime.
Stan Van Gundy calls out NBA officials again for unnecessarily extending Game 4
While Stan Van Gundy appeared fed up with Tuesday's officiating, he nearly escaped without enduring another excruciating review in the game's closing seconds. However, the referees returned to the monitor after the final buzzer sounded, eliciting more sarcastic comments from Van Gundy.
After Dallas missed multiple last-second shots, the ball was tipped out of bounds at the buzzer, with Minnesota holding on for a 105-100 road victory. However, the referees checked to see if more time needed to be added to the game clock.
"They're gonna check the clock here because this could be big. If there's a tenth of a second left, that could be huge," Van Gundy said. "If there's anything more inconsequential than this call, I couldn't tell you what it is. Can we just go home? The game's over."
The officiating crew ultimately added 0.2 seconds to the clock, with Van Gundy comically questioning how the Mavericks could score five points to tie the game.
"Now, they need a five-point play that they have to tip. ... How do you do that? How do you get a five-point tip?" Van Gundy asked.
The review proved inconsequential, as Dallas couldn't get off another shot attempt before the buzzer. Nevertheless, the replay provided fans with yet another comical critique from Stan Van Gundy.
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