At the end of Detroit’s win in San Antonio this week -- the team’s sixth in a row after jettisoning Josh Smith -- Stan Van Gundy was caught on camera giving his team some colorful instruction in advance of the game’s final possession.
Van Gundy told his team to “form a f--king wall” in front of the basket, because with just a tenth of a second remaining, the Spurs could only win by virtue of a tip-in.
Not only did the strategy work, but the clip went viral -- and the team has since embraced its coach’s new catch phrase.
From Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report:The Pistons dancers are wearing shirts tonight that say “The Wall Vs. Everybody.” This is a thing.
Pistons are coming out to Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” tonight. Stan: “It’s strange to me.”
Stan Van Gundy returns to locker room shaking his head.... “The Wall, the Wall...”
Van Gundy may find it odd, and to be fair, an innocuous comment overheard by the cameras probably shouldn’t garner this much attention.
But it’s been forever since the Pistons and their fans have had something to get behind, and their coach being decisive while giving instruction during an end-of-game situation is as good a rallying point as any.