Category → News
April 11th, 2012
Wednesday’s Magic Word
- When he’s gotten playing time, Ish Smith has impressed the coaching staff for the Orlando Magic with his quickness and playmaking ability.
- The Magic may be the No. 6 seed right now in the Eastern Conference, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Why? Orlando would be slated to face off against the Indiana Pacers in the playoffs and have a favorable matchup in that series.
- Dwight Howard lifts the spirits of a paralyzed boy.
- Could the Magic have their sights set on Donnie Walsh as a person that could possibly take a front office position within the organization?
- Benjamin Hoffman of the New York Times’ Off the Dribble blog: “The two men responsible for Lil’ Penny will be reuniting for the first time Thursday, when Rock is a guest on the Bottom Line Sports Show, an Internet radio show that Hardaway executive produces and occasionally appears on alongside the show’s regular host and founder, Gerald Brown. Despite having been linked through the Lil’ Penny character for nearly 20 years, Hardaway and Rock have spent little time together as their parts in the commercials were filmed separately.”
- Orlando struggled against the Washington Wizards without Dwight.
- Dwight will likely make his return to the court on Friday against the Atlanta Hawks. Dwight could have played against the Wizards, but the Magic didn’t want to rush him back.
- Washington’s Kevin Seraphin had a career-night against Orlando.
- Fran Blinebury of NBA.com is looking forward to the next sequel in “Dwight & Stan’s Excellent Adventure.”
- Mark Heisler of SheridanHoops.com: “GM Otis Smith is as dead a duck as Coach Stan Van Gundy. Only question is whether Dwight stays — for a season — to break in the new guys.”
- Tom Ziller of SB Nation: “The Magic need just four more wins to clinch a playoff berth, as they currently sit 5.5 games ahead of the No. 9 Bucks. With less than 10 games remaining, this shouldn’t be an issue.”
- Dwight is selected for John Hollinger’s all-defensive team at ESPN Insider. However, Dwight is on the second team. Behind Tyson Chandler. Considering the drop-off in performance from Dwight defensively this season and given how much Chandler has changed not only the New York Knicks’ defense but culture, it makes sense.
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in News • No Comment
April 6th, 2012
Friday’s Magic Word
- With the drama surrounding head coach Stan Van Gundy and Dwight Howard reaching a fever pitch, Hedo Turkoglu suffering facial fractures on his cheekbone (this after Carmelo Anthony inadvertently elbowed him in the face), and Ryan Anderson still recovering from a sprained ankle, nothing is going right for the Orlando Magic right now.
- According to Basketball Prospectus, the Magic are projected to finish with the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference behind the Atlanta Hawks. Though for Orlando, they would play the Boston Celtics in the first round if the standings held up.
- Last night, the crew (Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal) at “Inside the NBA” on TNT had a lot to say with regards to the Van Gundy-Dwight saga.
- In lieu of new rumors, in this case from Fred Kerber of the New York Post, in which it’s revealed that Dwight was “threatened” by the possibility of being traded from the Magic to the Los Angeles Lakers at the deadline, Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don’t Lie went straight to the point: “Honestly, in a few weeks time Dwight Howard has gone from an MVP candidate to someone who needs a leave of bloody absence.”
- Once known as “Superman,” now Dwight is nothing more than a supervillian. Ian O’Connor of ESPN New York explains Dwight’s transformation from good guy to bad guy: “His innocence — or whatever remained of it — was shattered like a glass backboard even before he embarrassed himself against the New York Knicks. Seven hours before tipoff, before Howard went scoreless for the first 35 minutes and 56.5 seconds of a 96-80 loss to the Knicks, Stan Van Gundy disclosed that his bosses had told him Howard did indeed ask for his head.”
- What does life after Orlando look like for Van Gundy? John Hollinger of ESPN Insider lays out all the possibilities for Van Gundy’s future. Could ESPN come calling for him to be a television NBA analyst? Would Van Gundy listen to the offer?
- Marc Stein of ESPN.com: “The only apparent certainty, at this point, is that Van Gundy will not be back in Orlando next season. No one can envision a scenario where Van Gundy returns for 2012-13 … or a scenario where Stan even wants to.”
- Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk on the Magic: “It’s hard to see how this team rights the ship and gains momentum now — the locker room is divided and there will be a cloud of questions following their every move.”
- “Oh, things are a hot mess in Orlando right now.”
- Turkoglu may need a protective mask to shield his face after he suffered facial fractures in his right cheekbone. He also may need surgery.
- Shaq talks about Dwight and takes his side in the Van Gundy vs. Dwight debate.
- Abe Schwadron of SLAM ONLINE: “The word ‘strange’ doesn’t even begin to describe what’s going on in Orlando right now.”
- Is one of the reasons why Dwight has created so much drama is because he’s underpaid? Ethan Sherwood Strauss of CourtVision thinks so: “Howard is set to make $17,885,400 this year and $19,261,200 next year. This is a lot of money to you, me or even a high-powered lawyer. But it’s far from Howard’s worth in terms of TV ratings, ticket prices and international exposure for the Magic organization. The dude’s a bargain, even at near $20 million per year.”
- With all that’s going on, Orlando may be better off cleaning their hands of the situation once and for all and trade Dwight in the offseason.
- Zach Harper of HoopSpeak presents to you “Dueling Helicopters” featuring Turkoglu and Anthony. This is part of HoopIdea’s initiative to #StopTheFlop.
- Bethlehem Shoals of The Classical: “Howard seems intent on simply making more work for himself, or at very least, setting himself up as the dictatorial authority and thus exposing himself to all the blame. It’s a remarkably crude sense of power, one almost as immature as it is counterproductive.”
- Steve Kyler of HOOPSWORLD with the must-read article of the day. As the mainstream media and blogosphere try to make sense of all the madness that has occurred with the Magic in the last 24 hours, Kyler has this to report: “So what’s the real issue? Dwight Howard wants a coach he can connect with; a coach he can trust; a coach that can relate to what players are going through in a season. Dwight does not want to be an employee.”
- Andrew Sharp of SB Nation wonders if the Magic were better off dealing Dwight to the Los Angeles Lakers at the trade deadline.
- In last night’s game, the New York Knicks dominated Orlando from start to finish and — given the circumstances — it didn’t take a lot of work to do so.
- More from Sharp: “Dwight is the player who’s been flexing his superstar’s leverage all year, Thursday was the day that Van Gundy decided to flex his. Nobody’s done more with less over the past five years, so he’s earned the privilege of candor. Coaches get forced out by superstar all the time, but they’re not usually as proven and respected as Van Gundy — that’s why this got complicated.”
- Tom Ziller of SB Nation maintains his opinion that once Dwight waived the early termination option in his contract on March 15, the Magic should have traded him the second he signed it to avoid the current mess they’re in: “A lottery pick and a top prospect would have been an easy pull for Orlando on March 14, after Dwight committed. Instead, the Magic have to deal with this nightmare at least until the end of this season, and probably all of next year, too.”
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in News • 2 Comments
April 4th, 2012
Wednesday’s Magic Word
- CEO Alex Martins says that general manager Otis Smith and head coach Stan Van Gundy will be “evaluated” when the season is over. Both Smith and Van Gundy are under contract for the 2012-2013 NBA season.
- Glen Davis is finally playing well for the Orlando Magic. Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel thinks that he’s just needed positive reinforcement.
- The Magic are on a four-game losing streak and the reasoning is simple. Van Gundy: “We don’t play any defense.”
- This is unrelated to Orlando but something to keep in mind when the Dwight Howard era ends, whether it’s next season or a few years down the road. Neil Paine of Basketball Prospectus parses through the data and makes an important discovery with regards to breaking the cycle of mediocrity: “It seems clear from the data, then, that it is in fact necessary to be bad (winning 27 or fewer games) to acquire a player capable of leading your team to the finals someday.”
- In other words, when/if Dwight leaves, the Magic are better off tanking and building through the draft than by acquiring veterans in a trade.
- It’s been reported that Dwight wants Van Gundy and his coaching staff gone when the season is over. Whether or not the report is true (consider the source), this is what Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don’t Lie had to say about it: “Howard wants to be liked, as much as he wants to win, and it’s becoming clearer that the Orlando Magic and Dwight Howard don’t deserve a coach as great as Stan Van Gundy.”
- Orlando may draw the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs.
- The Magic lost to the Detroit Pistons in last night’s game and not having Dwight, Ryan Anderson, and Jameer Nelson available to play due to injuries is a big reason why.
- Whether or not Van Gundy is fired or he resigns, he’s not going to have much trouble finding employment elsewhere.
- Orlando was forced to roll out “one of the ugliest starting lineups in recent memory” according to Abe Schwadron of SLAM ONLINE. Sad, but true.
- Royce Young of CBSSports.com: “But as was the case with the Howard trade saga, the Magic need to do some housekeeping. They have way too many leaks, way too many holes in their ship. Too many people talk. They need to keep this stuff in house, in private and handle it outside of media reports.”
- By being relied upon so heavily during the regular season, Nelson may be in danger of flaming out in the playoffs.
- For the Magic, currently in the middle of a season-high four-game losing streak with no end in sight, let the bad times roll.
- Amidst all the Van Gundy rumors regarding his future, Orlando is dealing with a lot of drama at the wrong time.
- Question: what’s wrong with this sentence? Mike Prada of SB Nation: “Van Gundy has been one of the most successful coaches in Magic franchise history, compiling a record of 254-128 in four and a half years with the team.”
- Answer: it should actually read, “Van Gundy IS the most successful coach in Magic franchise history.”
- Tom Ziller of SB Nation with a classic one-liner: “[I]n Dwight’s absence, Greg Monroe swallowed up the universe and produced 22 points and 11 rebounds.”
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in News • No Comment
April 3rd, 2012
Tuesday’s Magic Word
- As the Orlando Magic face the distinct possibility of playing without Dwight Howard, Ryan Anderson, and Jameer Nelson in tonight’s road game against the Detroit Pistons, it wasn’t long ago when another short-handed Magic team was able to beat the Pistons on the road.
- Ryan Anderson’s ankle “still looks like a softball.”
- Could Orlando make a go at a Kentucky Wildcats player in the first round of the 2012 NBA Draft?
- Head coach Stan Van Gundy: “It’s all hands on deck right now. We could possibly be without three starters and really the three guys who’ve been our best offensive players over the last month. So it could be everybody on deck. We’ll see.”
- Brendan Haywood will not be disciplined for allegedly punching Dwight Howard in the back in Friday’s game between the Magic and Dallas Mavericks.
- Bill Simmons on Dwight’s odds of winning the Most Valuable Player award this season: “Don’t worry, he’s disqualified. Nobody can vote for Dwight after what he inflicted on his teammates, coaches and fans — a three-month soap opera of wishy-washiness that undermined his team and goes on his permanent résumé.”
- Britt Robson of Sports Illustrated: “The conventional wisdom over the past few seasons has been that if point guard Jameer Nelson is playing well, the Magic are in good shape. But with Nelson shooting better than 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from distance while averaging 16.5 points in the last 10 games, Orlando is just 4-6 and has dropped three in a row.”
- The problem, of course, is that Orlando — outside of Dwight, Anderson, and Redick — is not very good. Nelson’s recent resurgence has been a nice story, but it’s been undermined by the fact that players like Hedo Turkoglu aren’t playing very well (and haven’t much at all this season).
- Not many people are jumping on the Magic’s playoff bandwagon.
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in News • No Comment
April 2nd, 2012
Monday’s Magic Word
- Glen Davis on his role with the Orlando Magic: “Whatever Stan wants me to do, I’m going to do it to the max whatever he wants me to do. If he wants me to set a thousand screens, I’ll set a thousand screens till I fall [down] and die.”
- “Complete” players in the NBA are a myth according to Scott Leedy of Hardwood Paroxysm. All players, like Dwight Howard with his free-throw shooting, have flaws.
- The Magic are no longer a lock to secure the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. Other teams in the East are in hot pursuit.
- Marc Stein of ESPN.com has a new nickname for Orlando: “Team Roller Coaster.”
- Brendan Haywood denies punching Dwight Howard in the back in Friday’s game between the Magic and Dallas Mavericks. Dwight sat out Sunday’s game against the Denver Nuggets with back spasms.
- It was a battle of point guards between Jameer Nelson and Ty Lawson on Sunday.
- Orlando will continue to struggle to win games without Dwight (and Ryan Anderson by extension) available to play. Anderson suffered a sprained ankle versus the Nuggets.
- Abe Schwadron of SLAM ONLINE: “Luckily for the Magic, their skid should end soon, as they get the Pistons twice and the Wizards once over their next 5 games.”
- How do you beat the Magic? Matt Moore of CBSSports.com has the answer: “You close out on the shooters, you live with Dwight Howard killing you inside, you don’t let anyone else get easy looks The defensive inconsistency is their biggest problem. If they’re exploitable defensively, they just don’t measure up with Magic teams of the recent past.”
- Shaquille O’Neal talks about leadership and being a leader. He talks about Dwight, too.
- Zach Lowe of The Point Forward explains why Orlando should not want to face the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs: “Atlanta has a big man (Jason Collins) capable of guarding Dwight Howard one-on-one, and the ability of Josh Smith (and, if healthy, Al Horford) to switch on pick-and-rolls and contain Orlando’s guards has given the Magic occasional fits.”
- Anderson has Lawson to blame for spraining his ankle.
- Tom Ziller of SB Nation breaks down the race for the No. 3 seed in the East: “The Magic lost, but remain in the No. 3 spot by a half-game margin over Indiana, who won. Atlanta was idle, and sits a game behind Indiana and a game ahead of Philadelphia. Milwaukee did not play, and remains 2.5 games behind the Knicks.”
March 28th, 2012
Wednesday’s Magic Word
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “The NBA has fined Orlando Magic big man Glen Davis $35,000 for an obscene gesture Davis made during Monday’s victory over the Toronto Raptors in Toronto, league officials announced Wednesday. Davis appeared to flip off a fan after Davis had been hit on the top of the head by a Raptors player with 7:49 remaining in the second quarter.”
- Jeremy Lin will not be playing in tonight’s game between the Orlando Magic and New York Knicks. Baron Davis will start in Lin’s place.
- Which means that Lin will miss his chance to face the “Great Wall of Orlando.”
- Josh Cohen of OrlandoMagic.com provides a breakdown of all the tiebreaker possibilities for the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference. Take note, Magic fans.
- Jason Terry won’t be wearing his trademark headband and knee-high socks when the Dallas Mavericks play the Magic on Friday. You can thank Jameer Nelson for that.
- Is Orlando the most inconsistent team in the NBA? The numbers say no.
- John Hollinger of ESPN Insider on the Magic’s chances of upsetting the Miami Heat in the playoffs and advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals: “Every team that has beaten Howard in the playoffs had a big, burly center who could push him off his spots and make him work for his points without requiring a double-team. [...] Miami, which has split the season series with the Magic 2-2, appears extremely vulnerable on this count, and the Heat are Orlando’s most likely second-round opponent.”
- Turnovers, in part, have prevented Orlando from being a better offensive squad than they have been. Zach Harper of HoopSpeak imparts his wisdom to the masses: “The Magic are giving the ball away 15% of the time on offense. That’s just way too much for a team that relies on precision passing around the perimeter to open up the flow of their offensive attack.”
- Several NBA scribes think the Atlanta Hawks can upset the Magic in the first round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs if the two teams meet.
- Mark Heisler of SheridanHoops.com: “One for Otis Smith: Ryan Anderson, acquired from Nets, becomes ideal floor-stretching power forward alongside Dwight, leads NBA with 143 threes—39 more than No. 2 Jason Terry. Unfortunately, they also got Vince in deal.”
- This is revisionist history at its finest. It’s unfortunate that Vince Carter didn’t step up in the 2010 NBA Eastern Conference Finals when Orlando needed him to. It’s not unfortunate that the Magic acquired Carter and Ryan Anderson for the expiring contracts of Rafer Alston and Tony Battie alongside Courtney Lee. The trade was sound, even if the end result left a lot to be desired.
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in News • No Comment
March 27th, 2012
Tuesday’s Magic Word
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “With the Magic leading the Toronto Raptors 117-98 in the closing seconds of a game Monday night, a seemingly insignificant basket by Toronto’s Ed Davis prompted the crowd inside Air Canada Centre to erupt in cheers. The moment flummoxed Stan Van Gundy and some Magic players until they were told that ticket-holders would receive free pizza since Davis’ basket gave the Raptors 100 points.”
- Aside from pulling that hilarious quote from head coach Stan Van Gundy, Robbins conducts an interview with general manager Otis Smith and asks him a variety of questions about the Orlando Magic. In it, Smith notes that he wants to see Jameer Nelson and Hedo Turkoglu play better than they have this season. Rob Mahoney of CourtVision agrees.
- Improving their defense and ball-handling are two areas in which the Magic must improve before the start of the playoffs.
- Head coach Dwane Casey has high praise for Ryan Anderson. This after Anderson torched the Toronto Raptors to the tune of 28 points, making a career-high eight three-pointers in the process.
- Don’t look now but the Boston Celtics are surging in the Atlantic Division. As of today, the Celtics are tied with the Philadelphia 76ers atop the division (both teams are 27-22). Why does that matter? It matters because if the Celtics win another divisional title, they would — at minimum — earn the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. Which means Orlando would avoid Boston in the first round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs.
- Much has changed since the Magic last faced the New York Knicks on January 16.
- Van Gundy is admired by many writers in the blogosphere. Like Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don’t Lie. Or Zach Lowe of The Point Forward. Or Holly MacKenzie of CourtVision. Van Gundy’s rants on anything and everything have become legendary in NBA circles.
- Orlando took advantage of the Raptors’ inconsistency on defense.
- Against Toronto, Anderson proved why he’s one of the best three-point shooters in the NBA.
- Jeff Van Gundy on Dwight Howard’s decision to stay with the Magic beyond this season: “That decision wasn’t about loyalty, it had nothing to do with loyalty, it had to do with he stays in power, control, and generates attention over the next year and a half until it comes back around again.”
- According to Britt Robson of Sports Illustrated, Turkoglu must regain his 2009 form if Orlando wants to advance deep into the postseason this year.
- The Magic punished the Raptors by running a number of staggered screens to create open looks on offense for players like Anderson.
- What are the odds Orlando makes it to the Eastern Conference Finals? Not bad, actually. John Hollinger of ESPN Insider explains: “Chicago-Miami seems like such a slam dunk in the Eastern Conference finals that it’s barely worth talking about the conference’s other teams. Not so fast, perhaps. AccuScore gives Orlando a 32 percent chance of upsetting Miami and Boston a 19 percent chance.”
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in News • 2 Comments
March 20th, 2012
Tuesday’s Magic Word
- Jameer Nelson, Jason Richardson, and Hedo Turkoglu all struggled mightily against the Chicago Bulls, resulting in an 85-59 blowout loss for the Orlando Magic.
- Head coach Stan Van Gundy takes some of the blame for the Magic’s recent struggles on offense, noting that “we’ve got better players than that.”
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “He has next season left on his contract with the Magic before he can become a coveted free agent. Without signing him to an extension, there will be doubt about the franchise’s direction. And some distractions. For once, we’re not discussing Dwight Howard, although his name surely will surface in these talks. The Magic need to make a decision about their coach, Stan Van Gundy.”
- With a win against Orlando, head coach Tom Thibodeau became the fastest coach in NBA history to win 100 regular season games. Van Gundy speaks very highly of Thibodeau.
- Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don’t Lie suggests that Van Gundy may be better off coaching another team instead of extending his contract with the Magic: “Van Gundy, not unlike Howard, might be wise to consider his options here. Considering his talent, perhaps an extension in Orlando might not be the wisest move for his career.”
- This shot chart says it all about Orlando’s offensive performance against the Bulls.
- Without Derrick Rose, Chicago is 10-4 this season. That includes wins against the Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, and Magic in the span of less than a week.
- How suffocating was the Bulls’ defense against Orlando? Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated reveals some of the gruesome details: “The Magic made four of 20 threes, provided Chicago with 25 points on 19 turnovers and shot no better from the free throw line than the Bulls did from the three-point line, as each went 7-of-18, respectively.”
- When Ryan Anderson has an off-night offensively, as he did against Chicago (scoring 10 points on 4-for-13 shooting from the floor), the Magic typically lose. In 29 Orlando wins this season, Anderson averages 17.6 points per game with a True Shooting percentage at 62.9 percent. In 17 losses, those numbers dip to 12.4 and 50.1 respectively.
- Chris Duhon is really bad. So is Glen Davis.
- In his press conference on Thursday, in which he formally announced he was waiving the early termination option in his contract, Dwight talked a lot about loyalty as one of the reasons he chose to stay with the Magic for one more year but he also mentioned that he felt the team could compete for a championship this season. Rohan Cruyff of HoopSpeak doesn’t think Orlando is in a position to do that: “Howard perhaps opted for an extra year in Orlando because, for many years, the Magic legitimately contended for titles [...], but the future looks dire without a massive free agent signing next summer.
- The Magic are 17-11 “in games where both teams either have no rest or both teams have at least one day of rest” for a winning percentage of .607 according to John Schuhmann of NBA.com — fourth-best among Eastern Conference teams.
- Steve Perrin of SB Nation: “Howard stuck around to take a crack at winning a championship with the Magic, who have the third best record in the East after all. Getting thrashed by the Bulls is probably not what Howard had in mind when he signed that waiver last Thursday.”
- Anderson is underrated.
March 19th, 2012
Monday’s Magic Word
- One of the keys to beating the Miami Heat, if the Orlando Magic play their conference, divisional, and in-state rival in the postseason, is slowing down Dwyane Wade.
- Another aspect of a potential Magic-Heat playoff series is figuring out if Hedo Turkoglu, typically defended and shut down by LeBron James, can be relied upon by Orlando.
- According to the SCHOENE projection system, the Magic are slated to finish the regular season with a 42-24, the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, and a first round date with the Atlanta Hawks. A Hawks team that has won nine of their last 13 games against Orlando.
- CEO Alex Martins made a remarkable save by convincing Dwight Howard to stay for another season. As David Alridge of NBA.com notes, that gives the Magic more time to improve the roster and put Howard in a better position to win a title in the hopes of inking him to a long-term extension.
- Marc Stein of ESPN.com thinks Orlando, despite keeping Dwight around for a little while longer, should trade him.
- The odds are low that the Magic could beat Miami in a seven-game series.
- The Dwight free agency circus will be coming back to town next season for Orlando.
- Abe Schwadron of SLAM ONLINE: “Bosh’s 3-point play on a James dish with 3:46 remaining was the dagger that did in the Magic, who at that point fell behind 84-73 and couldn’t claw back into the game, despite team-highs of 18 points and 11 rebounds from Dwight Howard.”
- Dave Kindred of Grantland details how Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM got the scoop that Dwight decided he was going to stay with the Magic for one more year: “[I]n six years covering the Magic, he had developed a relationship with Howard — ‘not bosom buddies, but we talked’ — that enabled him to send a casual BlackBerry note to the player after a game in San Antonio.”
- Brett Koremenos of NBA Playbook: “Throughout the course of the game, Miami went to a 5-out middle pick and roll set. The basic premise of the play is a two-man game in the middle of the floor with the screener rolling hard to the rim surrounded by three shooters. Ironically, it is an action that has been a trademark during the Stan Van Gundy-Dwight Howard era. On Sunday, however, the Magic had some difficulty defending it.”
- Five things to watch for in tonight’s game between Orlando and the Chicago Bulls. Derrick Rose, nursing a groin injury, is not expected to play.
- J.J. Redick’s playmaking ability has been well-documented at Magic Basketball recently. Zach Lowe of The Point Forward also sings the praises of Redick as a secondary distributor for the Magic.
- Tom Ziller of SB Nation: “I accept why the Magic decided to delay dealing with the Dwight Howard situation: they are playing with house money at this point. But why didn’t they try to upgrade the roster around him at the deadline? Were they too busy doing fist pumps after Dwight’s decision?”
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in News • No Comment
March 16th, 2012
Friday’s Magic Word
- Head coach Stan Van Gundy on when he heard the news about Dwight Howard: “It was probably a little bit before the press conference. So I don’t know. Maybe noontime [or] a little bit after. I don’t really remember. I was doing my New Jersey film. I don’t really remember exactly. It was a big moment for our organization, but it wasn’t like the JFK moment where everybody remembers what they were doing, you know? It wasn’t quite that big.”
- Jason Richardson will play in tonight’s game against the New Jersey Nets. Richardson missed the previous three games with a sprained left ankle, which he suffered against the Chicago Bulls on March 8.
- Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News labels Dwight a coward.
- The Orlando Magic played hardball with Dwight, learning from their lessons dealing with Shaquille O’Neal and his pending free agency in 1996.
- With Dwight now becoming a free agent in 2013, the Dallas Mavericks loom in the background.
- LZ Granderson of ESPN.com contends that, by waffling with his decision on staying with the Magic or not, Dwight is not a leader: “He may always be the best player on his club, but as he clumsily demonstrated during much of the season, he’s doesn’t necessarily have the best personality to handle that kind of pressure.”
- By keeping Dwight around for one more year, Orlando made one of the best moves of the trade deadline.
- For the Magic, improving the roster around Dwight is still the top priority. Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post, with a stellar article, determines if Orlando can land a player like Chris Paul in free agency in 2013.
- Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk:They kept Dwight Howard in town by calling his bluff. That is as big a win as anybody — except that it is a one-year deal, he’s not opting out early but if the Magic don’t make moves to get this team competing with the Heat and Bulls by next trade deadline we will be right back here. That said, today they celebrate.”
- By keeping Dwight, the Magic now officially pose a threat to the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference.
- Senior vice president Pat Williams on Dwight: “Dwight has such deep roots here and that’s what we all need to understand. He’s engaged with numerous charities, cares deeply, it’s not just that he writes a check, he goes and spends time with these disadvantaged young people. He has a great heart for people and his roots are deep in Orlando. I think the thought of pulling that up and ripping it out was something that he just couldn’t really live with in the final analysis.”
- Ken Berger of CBSSports.com on Dwight standing up for himself: “Howard’s been searching his entire career for a way to stand out, to be different, to step out of the shadow of his contemporaries and do something that Shaquille O’Neal, the player Howard always will be compared to, didn’t do. On Thursday, by staying right where he was, he finally accomplished that. At least for a little while. At least until next time.”
- It’s only apt, after Dwight was nearly traded to the Nets at the deadline, he plays against them tonight at Amway Center in front of the city of Orlando.
- Talk about Dwight’s future is delayed for now.
- Ethan Sherwood Strauss of CourtVision with a valid question in response to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski’s coverage of Dwight: “Did Howard ‘flake out’ or did these sources ultimately prove flaky? It does not bother me that this anonymous information occasionally misses; it bothers me that there is no social memory when this happens.”
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in News • No Comment
