Stan Van Gundy Fined for Criticizing Officials: Latest Comments, Reaction

Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy didn't even wait until halftime of Game 1 of his team's first-round playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers to complain about the officiating. As a result, the NBA fined him Monday.

According to David Mayo of MLive Media Group, the league fined Van Gundy $25,000 "for public criticism of officials in [his] ABC interview with Lisa Salters during Game 1."

The Cavaliers escaped Sunday with a 106-101 victory after the No. 8-seeded Pistons hung around until the final moments. In between the first and second quarters, Van Gundy suggested the officials were letting Cleveland superstar LeBron James get away with more than other players:

"I don’t know which one (charity) I just supported, but I’m happy to do it," Van Gundy told reporters on Tuesday regarding his fine.

James may not be able to do whatever he wants when it comes to breaking the rules, but it seemed as though he could do whatever he wanted against Detroit in Game 1.

He finished with 22 points, 11 assists and six rebounds and controlled the contest's critical moments as the Cavs' primary distributor. He had the ball in his hands down the stretch of what could have been anyone's game, and Cleveland won the fourth quarter 30-23.

According to Nick Friedell of ESPN.com, Van Gundy said after the game the officiating was not why his team lost:

"

Look, I thought it evened out really well. But early on, I thought there were two pretty obvious offensive fouls down there on him. But it's two calls in an entire game after that. Look, the refereeing had nothing to do with tonight. They did a good job. It went both ways. I thought they did a really good job. It was decided by the players on the floor, as it should be.

"

The box score didn't reveal any glaring differences between the way the referees officiated each team. They whistled the Pistons for 21 personal fouls compared to 18 for the Cavaliers, and Cleveland shot 21 free throws, while Detroit attempted 16.

James picked up three personal fouls, which tied Matthew Dellavedova for a team high. The Pistons' Marcus Morris and Stanley Johnson were called for four fouls apiece, and Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson finished with three each.

"It's not about me vs. Stan [Van Gundy], me vs. Stanley [Johnson] or me vs. any other Stan," James told reporters on Tuesday.

While the league fined Van Gundy for his comments, he will probably gladly pay it if it means the officials will have his thoughts in the backs of their minds for the rest of the series.

Detroit would like the officials to be aware of what Van Gundy thought was a discrepancy in the way James was treated and for them to call more 50-50 whistles against the four-time MVP throughout the series. Whether it is real or not, the idea of "superstar calls" has been around the NBA for decades, and Van Gundy was likely just trying to get his team on equal footing for future whistles.

Considering a mere five points decided Game 1, a few extra calls could be the difference between a win and a loss in Game 2 and beyond.