Stan Van Gundy somehow ignored Reggie Jackson’s pleas for some dap
Stan Van Gundy gets pretty focused during games. Like, “so dialed in on every single possession that seeing a call go against the Detroit Pistons results in him losing his grip on reality“-level focused. As a result, it can be pretty tough to get his attention in the heat of battle … even if, y’know, you’re his $80 million starting point guard and you’ve been balling out in a big home game against the red-hot Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers:
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That is flat-out remarkable. This isn’t even forgetting to walk over and reach out for a teammate after a free throw; this is Jackson standing directly behind Van Gundy, a step away, and yelling for his coach to recognize him … and nothing.
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From Rod Beard of The Detroit News:
But as Van Gundy explained after the game: “I was concentrating on the game, not on that. Reggie’s very social and he was trying to give me some dap and I was focused on the play in front of me. I wasn’t trying to shun him; it’s just that the game was going on.”
Said Jackson: “I just wanted a handshake. He was so wound up in the game that I couldn’t get my normal dap coming off the court.
“The most animated I was [during the game] was trying to get coach to give me a handshake and it didn’t happen,” he joked. “He definitely got me [a handshake] at the end, so we made up for it.”
Whew. Glad to hear there’s no dissension in the ranks and no cryptic tweet leadership correctives needed here, especially after Jackson more than earned a hearty handshake and a pat on the back, scoring 30 points on 11-for-19 shooting with nine assists, two steals and just one turnover in 34 minutes to lead Detroit to a 123-103 win that improved the Pistons to 32-31.
The victory tied Detroit’s win total from last season and, more importantly, put them even on record with the Chicago Bulls for the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race. A few more performances like that, and maybe Jackson — who’s averaging a career-best 19.2 points and 6.2 assists in 30.9 minutes per game in his first full season as a starting NBA point guard — will start to see Stan extend his hand to his man. Reggie, you’re on your way.
Haha coach was too locked in RT @tobias31: Lol @Reggie_Jackson maybe next time 😂😂 https://t.co/10TNIfOVYP
— Reggie Jackson (@Reggie_Jackson) March 7, 2016
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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