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zORi wrote:Great find from Steve Perry over at TrueBlue:

Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy stuck up for Dwight Howard today, saying that the suspended superstar has shown "great restraint" this season on plays in which he's been hit by an opposing player.

Citing a statistic he credited to the Elias Sports Bureau, Van Gundy said Howard has been fouled 593 times this season and that none of the opponents who committed those infractions has received a flagrant foul on any of those plays.

"You guys can estimate how many of those were hard hits and how many of those were above the shoulders," Van Gundy said to reporters after the Magic completed their shootaround.

"And for him to retaliate as few times as he has? By the way, not one of those 593 hits, with so many of those being above the shoulders and hard, not one has been deemed a flagrant foul. Not one. Five hundred and ninety-three. Amazing restraint for those guys to hit him that hard and not go over the line and get a flagrant foul. Getting no protection from the referees, he's only retaliated from that a handful of times.

"You could say 'he's losing control.' I would say just to the opposite. I would say his control is amazing. Basically, what we're saying [is] for those of us that work out, go run on the treadmill for 43 or 44 minutes that he plays, and I get to come by three times in that 43 minutes and smack you as hard as I want upside the head and I want you to retaliate less than once out of every 15 days that I do that three times."

When a reporter asked Van Gundy if he expects anything to change in the way referees officiate Howard's games, Van Gundy responded that he expects no change from the NBA.

"They like the way the game is being called," Van Gundy said.

When another reporter asked if it's fair to fans who paid money to watch Howard play tonight but now won't be able to watch Howard, Van Gundy responded, "You'll have to ask [NBA Commissioner] David Stern about that. He obviously thinks it's better that he sits out."

A reporter later asked whether the technical-foul system is fair, but Van Gundy expressed concern that any statement of opinion could net him a fine from league officials.

"I can't answer that," Van Gundy responded. "And I certainly can't have an opinion because David Stern, like a lot of leaders we've seen in this world lately, don't really tolerate other people's opinions or free speech or anything. So I'm not really allowed to have an opinion, so it's up to him. He decides. And he likes the system that he has."

Also shots at the Heat:

“I do chuckle a little bit when they sort of complain about the scrutiny when they get,” Van Gundy said. “My suggestion would be if you don’t want the scrutiny, you don’t hold a championship celebration before you’ve even practiced together. It’s hard to go out yourself and invite that kind of crowd and celebration and attention, and then when things aren’t going well, sort of bemoan the fact that you’re getting that attention. To me, that doesn’t follow.”

And Stern:

Later, a reporter asked Van Gundy if he was comparing Stern to Middle East tyrants such as former Egypt leader Hosni Mubarak or Libya leader Moammar Gadhafi.

"I did not say that at all," Van Gundy said. "I don't even remember even mentioning their names. No, I do not. I just said David Stern does not want other people's opinions and he does not tolerate freedom of speech when it comes to NBA issues. He's the only opinion."

Lol, I love this guy.