He felt that Grant Hill and Jerry Stackhouse were taking a beating every time they went to the basket, without protection from the officials. The Pistons have attempted more free throws than any team in the NBA, averaging 32 attempts. Hill and Stackhouse have led their respective positions in free-throw attempts throughout the season. But if you want to impose your will on somebody, then you should be a rugby player. Basketball is not meant to be played that way.
Basketball is a graceful sport.
That and hockey are the two in which you have to have the most athletic ability. It's not a brute sport. It's supposed to be a graceful, almost ballet-type sport. And I think the guys who have that ability deserve a chance to show that and not get in scrums and be denied the opportunity to do what they do best. Gentry said he has been assured by league officials that the new rule interpretations would be enforced from the first game of the regular season to Game 7 of the NBA Finals.