The events on the court at Air Canada Centre looked a little messy on Tuesday when Serge Ibaka and Robin Lopez began throwing punches during the Toronto Raptors’ game against the Chicago Bulls.
To Jerry Stackhouse, it looked like a good time.
“That might have been my biggest regret of the year, not being able to be there last night,” Stackhouse said with a laugh during an appearance on Sportsnet’s Starting Lineup Wednesday morning. “That looked like that was fun.”
The former NBAer and head coach of Raptors 905 was on the road with his D-League team in preparation for a game in Grand Rapids, but had plenty to say about the scuffle.
“It just shows you how much is at stake,” he said. “You’ve got guys that are competitive, that want to win. Both teams are playing for an opportunity to get in the post-season and it just gets a little edgy sometimes, but I didn’t think it was that bad at all.”
When it comes to the rough stuff on the court, Stackhouse knows a thing or two. The longtime NBA star was known for, let’s just say, embracing his reputation as a tough guy during his playing days.
“I just think it’s competitive,” he said. “When you’ve got big guys and big bodies like that, things can get a little heated. But it bode well for us, because the team kind of got a spark from that and went on a huge run and was able to get back into the game and ultimately win it in overtime.”
Down 88-72 at the time of the second-half scuffle, the Raptors went on to even up the score and force overtime. They ended up winning 122-120, snapping their 11-game losing streak to the Bulls, which dated back to 2013.
“Definitely don’t want to make that a habit because I’m pretty sure there’s going to be some suspensions that follow,” Stackhouse said. Both Ibaka and Lopez were ejected from the game after the altercation.
“Serge is someone we really need on the floor because of his defence and what he brings to the team offensively and just overall leadership,” he said. “It’s good from a fan standpoint, to see that the team is feisty and has the edge and they really care about what’s going on, but at the end of the day as a coach you want them to be smart and make sure they don’t do anything to put the team in a bad way.”
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