Feb 16
Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: “Pat Williams has always been the ultimate optimist. He’s always been the impossible dreamer. He’s always been the Magic man who could transform a no-horse town into an NBA city and turn little pingpong balls into mega-superstars. There’s a plaque hanging next to some flowers out by his swimming pool: ‘Plant smiles. Grow giggles. …
Jan 17
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “Eight months later, the memory still stings. The Orlando Magic finally have returned to the place where their title dreams ended last postseason. They recall how they walked off of TD Garden’s parquet floor as the Boston Celtics celebrated winning the Eastern Conference championship. [...] Fair enough. Only six players remain from …
Dec 23
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “The person who now wears No. 15 for the Orlando Magic looks and sounds just like the guy who wore No. 15 during the team’s run to the 2009 NBA Finals. Same goatee. Same smile. Same accent. But which Hedo Turkoglu did the Magic receive in their recent blockbuster …
Dec 14
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “Stan Van Gundy doesn’t expect the Orlando Magic to rank near the top of the league in fastbreak points, but the current state of affairs is, in his words, “absurd.” And that’s being charitable. Orlando entered Monday ranked dead last in the NBA in fastbreak points by a shocking margin. The Magic average …
Dec 06
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “Stan Van Gundy left Wisconsin hoping that Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, Mickael Pietrus and J.J. Redick will recover from their stomach virus in time to play Monday against the Atlanta Hawks. But Van Gundy also emphasized that he had no idea whether the foursome would be healthy enough. [...] …
Nov 24
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “Surprise, ahem, is in the voice of the Heat these days. Now that their force field of arrogance has been shattered, the Heat wobble into Amway Center at a ho-hum 8-6, misfiring on offense and missing some spare parts (Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller). All their woes place a ton of pressure on …
Nov 22
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “Leave it to Stan Van Gundy to compare one of his starting forwards to one of baseball’s best sluggers. A couple of years ago, Van Gundy — a lifelong baseball fan — responded to the calls of doom and gloom when the Detroit Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera started a season …
Nov 15
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “Stan Van Gundy already has had a heart-to-heart with Rashard Lewis, so he got to him before the rest of us. [...] If you’re wondering whether Van Gundy would bench Lewis, the answer is no. Not now, anyway. If Stan didn’t sit Vince Carter through a horrid January last …
Nov 10
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “After the Utah Jazz scored 56 points in the paint in edging the Heat in OT Tuesday night, I would guess Stan Van Gundy will fill out his lineup with either Brandon Bass or Ryan Anderson at power forward and use Marcin Gortat in a Twin Towers-combo with Dwight …