02-12-2008, 01:39 PM
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#5 (permalink)
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Player
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: OC CA
Posts: 675
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Re: game against cleveland
Quote:
Van Gundy sits Dwight Howard after clash
Brian Schmitz | Sentinel Staff Writer
10:41 AM EST, February 12, 2008
Orlando Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy says he and superstar Dwight Howard have "a little bit of conflict" and it finally manifested itself into Van Gundy's benching and postgame blasting of his all-star center on Monday night.
The Magic's 118-111 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers at Amway Arena became a footnote after the Howard-Van Gundy dustup.
Van Gundy said he sat Howard for a two-minute stretch of a fairly tight game in the fourth quarter after Howard said something he didn't like.
Neither Van Gundy nor Howard would volunteer what was said.
"That's going to be between Dwight and I, but his focus isn't where it needs to be," Van Gundy said. "I don't think right now we're on the same page, to be quite honest."
Van Gundy added that Howard said nothing derogatory toward him. Howard's comment was likely in the context of the game -- perhaps not getting the ball enough -- but it set off Van Gundy, a disciple of the Pat Riley school of accountability, superstar or not.
Van Gundy said after the Magic fell to 32-21 that Howard has been concentrating too much on scoring and not enough on defense and rebounding -- the real effort departments.
"His focus is on the offensive end," Van Gundy said. "He gets discouraged when he doesn't get the ball. I think the numbers prove that what we need him to focus on to win is defensive rebounding, but that's not what he wants to do right now and we've got a little bit of a conflict."
The on-court controversy is a first in Howard's three-plus seasons in Orlando. Howard said he and Van Gundy are "fine."
"There are no problems with me and Stan Van Gundy," Howard said. "It's just like when families have problems. We're going to have fights and disappointments."
Howard, 22, said he has to play harder and provide what Van Gundy wants for the team. He grabbed just nine rebounds, losing the NBA rebounding lead to Denver's Marcus Camby, whom he faces Wednesday night.
"I got frustrated a little bit," he said. "I got to do what's right for my team. They need me to be focused on what I can do. . . . If I don't do those things we're going to be a mediocre team."
The star and the coach likely will downplay their mini-feud today. Van Gundy has proven to be emotional and bombastic after losses, but his other concerns are not exaggerated.
The story line before the Howard-Van Gundy tiff was how the Cavs exposed their defensive weakness at point guard -- a problem underscored by Chauncey Billups in last season's Detroit-Orlando playoff series. Cavs point guard Larry Hughes did a LeBron James impersonation, scoring a season-high 40 points, including 23 in the third quarter.
Keyon Dooling, a free agent-in-waiting, might have earned himself a contract extension. Dooling is the Magic's best perimeter defender but couldn't chase Hughes wearing a suit. He sat out (sprained left mid-foot) after being unable to participate in Monday's pregame shoot-around.
Van Gundy might have taken his point guards, Jameer Nelson and Carlos Arroyo, to task.
"We kind of lost [Hughes] in the second half -- myself included," Nelson said.
And what of Rashard Lewis? The Magic's $118 million man had just 15 points on a night the club needed him to at least match James' 29.
The Magic melted down in the fourth period, responding with a rare hangdog demeanor.
"Our guys -- you could see it in timeouts and stuff -- just really hung their heads," Van Gundy said. "I thought they quit competing. That hasn't happened much to us."
Van Gundy benched Howard after a timeout and the Magic trailing by seven with just under six minutes left. They lost ground, Howard returning two minutes later with the Cavs leading 109-97.
Van Gundy made his point to Howard even with the game on the line.
"It's nothing," Howard said. "Me and Stan are good. It's nothing. We're family."
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i'm sure it's not too big a deal, but it seems like Dwight is beginning to become to concerned with his numbers instead of leading the team and winning games, especially on the defensive end. I've noticed that Dwight gets a lot more frustrated than he used to and doesn't smile as often either. This was never an issue and is the first time anything like this has even come up with Dwight, but i hope he doesn't go Shaq on us and become too self-absorbed.
where is the effort these days? these guys seem like they are just trying to put up points and go through the motions without putting any fire into their game and trying to dominate instead of get by.
Hughes gettin 40 is just stupid...
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