Howard and Van Gundy in a conflict?

maginno · Post #61 » by **maginno** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 5:18 pm

mhectorgato wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

For being too perimeter oriented?

No Shaq wanted the ball more particularly in the last playoffs before Stan left. Its well known down here that Shaq undermined SVG and basically showed him the door. Given it was Shaq its fair to assume a few other players were with him.

ESPN guys are right. He had a good point but, precisely because Stan does know how the media runs with stuff, this was a VERY stupid move. Dwight is young enough and even minded enough to get the message if Stan sits him. theres no reason to air it out. All that can do is create more friction. Hopefully it won't long term but the strategy has no upside that couldn't be achieved by controlling playing time.

sportsrock37 · Post #62 » by **sportsrock37** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 5:46 pm

MoGrAdY wrote:Im with SVG here. Call his ass out. Hes been fallin off for weeks now and its hurting our team.

Yeah, the +11 when he was on the court absolutely killed us last night. :rolleyes:

-18 in the 10 mins he was off the court last night. SVG sacrificed that win to prove a point, so I really really really hope this gets through to the players over the all-star break.

He needs the ball way more and in turn needs to play better defense and get back to being the dominant rebounder that he is. Easy compromise. Both problems can be settled with a trade to Philly for Andre Miller and Reggie Evans.

Shishnizzle · Post #63 » by **Shishnizzle** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 5:47 pm

I don't remember anyone in this thread saying Howard should'nt get more touches. I think people just want to see him give the team what it needs most from him, rebounding and blocked shots. If he does that itw ill leed to more offensive production for him. I guess he thinks he needs to leed the league in scoring to have fun out there or to be recognized as a great player, but he is far more impressive when he dominates the game rebounding and blocking shots. Last night I saw Nelson goto the hole and try and lob the ball to Howard. Nelson was thinking Howard would get in position and dunk it down. Howard just watched and then ran the other way. He was'nt doing that when he was getting all of thos 20 20's. I say give him mor touches. Hopefully that will satisfy him and he will start playing hard agian.

mhectorgato · Post #64 » by **mhectorgato** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 5:56 pm

In the video post-game interview of Dwight on the OSent page, Dwight said that he needs to be the spark for the team on both sides of the floor.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/b ... 1563.story
(2nd video, last segment)

That's hard to do when the team ignores you and doesn't feed him.

There needs to be a collective understanding.

cavsfan_osiris · Post #65 » by **cavsfan_osiris** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 5:58 pm

SVG is wrong and he is the one who needs to make the adjustment. Feed the big man then get on him if he isn't playing defense/rebounding. You don't tease your guard-dog with a nice meal on Monday, then starve him Tue-Fri and expect him to happily protect your house. You're just pissing him off.

I have no idea why you would stop going to a guy who was 5/6 in the first quarter and the Cavs have absolutely no one who can stop him. If I were Dwight I'd be pissed also the way he was used after the first quarter was pathetic.

Howard's rebounding and defense will take care of itself. For the Magic getting high percentage shots are just as important as rebounding and defense.

There is no one on the Magic roster other than Howard who can consistently get high percentage shots. A lot of the time when the offensive goes through Howard and he forces teams to double him hard other players can get their shots.

The way the Magic are designed Dwight Howard has to be the focal point. The offense has to run through him. It most certainly can't run through Nelson or Lewis. It can run through Turk at times, but not more so than Howard.

If the magic also had a bonefide PF such as Pau Gasol then I would understand Ron Jeremy's stance, but they don't. Howard has to be the focal point.

And I don't understand why it has to be an either or thing. If Howard is slacking on defense and rebounding then get in his ass about it, but that doesn't mean you stop feeding him the ball.

Jigish · Post #66 » by **Jigish** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 6:41 pm

This is the end of our season, hello lottery.

MagicFan149 · Post #67 » by **MagicFan149** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 6:45 pm

lol you are kidding ???

lovehoops01 · Post #68 » by **lovehoops01** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 6:48 pm

KingRobb02 wrote:I agree with Stan on this issue. Dwight's offense is not good enough for him to demand the ball. until he gets 2 viable go to moves, he will never be an offensive threat outside of putbacks, finishing the break, and dunks.

I don't know what you were listening to, but I didn't hear Van Gundy say anything like that. He said he needs Dwight to play defense, rebound and block shots, as well as score, if the Magic are going to be successful. He said nothing else.

For me, last night, I was more concerned about the lack of rebounding and even running the floor (it was more of a jog). But I think we should leave this between Van Gundy, Dwight and the team. You don't want the fans piling on, too, or then it all can become something we don't want it to be (and also invite a lot of people who aren't Magic fans to say stuff but make it look like Magic fans saying it).

And Most Valuable, I'll agree with you that Dwight needs the ball more. But he is NOT always open. He is almost never open, unless some ball movement creates a surprise opening and he cuts to the basket. There is always one guy who becomes two or three as soon as he gets the ball. And to get him the ball, they often are having to throw the ball a foot over his head to get it to him (and they have been missing with that pass as much as hitting it lately -- not just the guards, but the forwards, too).

knappy · Post #69 » by **knappy** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 6:58 pm

SVG - man is he good - just saying the right thing time and time again. He has the guts to call out Dwight and Dwight needs to be called out. Dwight is so incredibly talented that he can get away with good performances at 50 to 75% effort, but we need 100% effort from him for this team to win.

We have pieces missing, but SVG needs to work on Dwight's head. I think this team is better when dwight is a role player on offense and not the major focal point of the offense. Dwight tends to score just as much when plays arern't being run for him all the time. When Dwight has to go get the ball for scoring opportunities he plays aggressive.

I agree Dwight needs to be focused on rebounding and defense - he'll get his scoring opportunities.

There is no conflict between Dwight and SVG, because Dwight is a bright guy and he knows SVG is right. SVG will get Dwight his opportunities, but help Dwight to maiximize his potential.

tosi · Post #70 » by **tosi** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 7:12 pm

Dwight Sucks... Send him to Toronto.. That will teach him a lesson.

daboywonder2002 · Post #71 » by **daboywonder2002** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 7:23 pm

what you have to think is this? would you rather have your center taking fifteen to twenty shots a game shooting 60% from the field but on some of those posessions hitting 50% from the line. or would you rather have your wing players shooting 80+% from the line but only shooting at a 43%fg rate. honestly i think stan wants dwight to focus on d and boards because no one else on the team is capable of doing it. if they actually had a legit power forward to help with rebounding and d. dwight would be able to focus a little more on offense.

spinedoc · Post #72 » by **spinedoc** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 7:26 pm

This is much ado about nothing. These guys are like family now and Dwight just got taken to the woodshed a little. Dwight has been too wrapped up lately with the non-calls and he's been getting frustrated and hanging his head. But to Cleveland's credit, they didn't allow us to set up that often on defense and took it to us early in the shot clock. Our defensive rotations have been off all over the place too, thats why we are getting these very weird matchups on defense. We aren't fighting through the screens, mainly because of our pg's, and its putting a ton of pressure on Dwight. I can understand his frustrations but he still needs to be the one to step up and lead this team. We have no leader on the floor right now, and Stan is trying to get Dwight to man up a bit. Its not that big of a deal.

We do need another rebounder and defender however, like most of us already know. Its very similar to why Hedo has been so good this year, because Lewis gets a lot of the attention allowing Hedo to freelance more. Well, we need a similar pairing down in the paint. With another decent big man drawing some attention, it can then free Dwight up to do his thing. Shard is not cutting it at the four. On the offensive end it works very well, but we are getting clobbered on the defense because of it. Also, I have seen Dwight be very concerned about not letting guys make baskets after the whistle has blown. I wish he had that same intensity during live play.

Post #73 » by **craig01** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 7:39 pm

SVG needs to keep this private.

I like being a fly on the wall as much as anyone, but he vents publicly too much IMO.

DiplomaticMagic · Post #75 » by **theTHIEF** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 9:49 pm

``Sometimes coaches have to do what they need to do to get their point across,

Play Jase or Trade for Alvarado