December 11, 2009
Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Magic and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.
PHOENIX – What to make of Thursday night’s tiff between Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy and standout power forward Rashard Lewis in Utah?
Most shocking of all was how it was highly uncharacteristic of both participants – the relentlessly hard-charging Van Gundy backing down and the mild-mannered, low-maintenance Lewis refusing a coach’s orders.
Over the past two years, Van Gundy has been more complimentary of Lewis than any other player on the Magic’s roster. He loves how Lewis has little ego, preaches team-first and win-at-all cost mantras and rarely ever complains. And that was confirmed in the Magic first team meeting before training camp when Lewis informed the newcomers to the team that sacrificing for the good of the team was a must in Orlando.
Lewis was frustrated at picking up two fouls in the first five minutes of the game, and in a team-first way he asked that Van Gundy leave Ryan Anderson in the game when the coach approached him with five minutes left in the first half.
Van Gundy was stunned that a player told him he didn’t want to go into a game. Van Gundy, who in the past has shown no fear at going back at superstar players, admitted to being ``baffled’’ by the moment and said he didn’t have time to argue with Lewis because he had a game to coach.
What made matters worse with the Lewis refusal to re-enter was the Magic were in the throes of a major collapse. Their lead went from 18 to six at one point in the second quarter, and then the Magic were outscored 23-4 in an early stretch of the third period. It resulted in an unsightly 120-111 loss to a Jazz team that had played a night earlier in Los Angeles against the Lakers.
Make no mistake about it, Van Gundy and Lewis were none too pleased after the game. Van Gundy didn’t like a player questioning his orders and he didn’t like the fact that Lewis’ mindset wasn’t into playing. After all, Van Gundy, he didn’t want him in the game if Lewis himself didn’t want to be in there.
Lewis stressed that he wasn’t being defiant and that he merely thought it made good sense to leave the hot-shooting Anderson in the game rather than re-insert him when he could have picked up his third foul before halftime. And Lewis also didn’t like the inference that the Magic lost because he didn’t want to play in the final five minutes of the second half.
``(Van Gundy) wasn’t (upset) at the time, but he was (upset) after they made a run, of course,’’ Lewis said. ``You’ve got to point a finger at something and if that’s what you’ve got to point it at, go right ahead. I don’t give a (darn).’’
Then, Lewis added: ``We’ve got too many games to play. We’ve got to turn around and play again (Friday night). I’m not going to say he shouldn’t be (upset), but hey I can be (upset), too.’’
I think this tiff will blow over, likely even before tonight’s game against the Suns. Van Gundy is too smart of a coach and he’s well aware that Lewis was actually sacrificing himself for the good of the team. But it’s never a good thing for a player to brush off a coach’s orders in a game, and I’ve got a feeling that point will be made.
And Lewis is a big believer in Van Gundy. He stressed recently that he didn’t want to coach to change his intense coaching style because he knows Van Gundy pushes the Magic to greatness. Lewis has been a Van Gundy favorite for two-plus seasons and I don’t expect that to change anytime soon. Both of them are too intelligent to let this linger and they know their success is directly tied to one another. When the emotions cool, so will this tiff.
Well, let’s move ahead to this week’s mailbag. If you happen to see some misspelled words or a brain freeze from me, it’s because I’m still trying to thaw out from this roadtrip. I missed the first leg to Oakland, but it rained in Los Angeles and then dipped down to 41 degrees. Salt Lake City was a balmy 10 degrees with six inches of snow on the ground and even Phoenix’s temps hovered around the 40-degree mark.
I’ll be on a red-eye flight back to Orlando Friday night/Saturday morning to make it back for my daughter, Abigail’s sixth birthday party, but I’m also anxious to catch the first flight out in order to thaw out in sunny Orlando.
Now, onto the question/answer phase of today’s program:
QUESTION: Hi JD!!! It seems as if the Magic play better with a pass-first point guard. Don’t get me wrong, I think Jameer Nelson is a solid player who has a lot of value because of his ability to penetrate and shoot a high percentage inside and outside the arc. But defensively he’s a liability and his inconsistency as a playmaker disrupts our offensive flow. Do you think the Magic would ever consider bringing him off the bench in a Vinny Johnson role? I could see him as a Sixth Man of the Year type player. – Rene Plasencia, Orlando
J.D.: It’s only natural to wonder now if the Magic are better off with Jason Williams as the starter because they have played so well since Nelson’s knee injury. But I just don’t buy it at all because in so many ways Nelson is the soul of this basketball team. He’s a leader in the locker room and on the floor, he’s tough and he’s fearless.
Look, I fully believe that the Magic run better with Jason Williams at the point because players run with him, knowing that they will likely get the ball. But at this stage in his career, Williams is a reserve best used in short bursts. On the floor too long and he gets badly exposed defensively as was the case Thursday night with Deron Williams.
The Magic miss Nelson’s play-making skills and scoring punch because when he comes off the pick-and-roll he’s a threat to score every time. Because the Magic don’t often go to Dwight Howard late in games and Rashard Lewis is more of a shooter than a scorer, they need another player alongside Vince Carter who can create shots and make plays on the move. Nelson gives them that and they need him healthy to repeat last year’s run to the NBA Finals.
QUESTION: Hey JD!!! You are around the team every day and I’m wondering how Marcin Gortat is handling what seems to be a frustrating situation? We all know he can play, he knows he can be a starter in this league, yet he barely gets enough minutes to make a difference. Is Gortat a ticking timebomb?? – Larry Fitzpatrick, Longwood
J.D.: Tick, tick, tick … I wouldn’t go as far as saying he’s a timebomb, but yes, Gortat is silently steaming over his lack of minutes playing behind Dwight Howard. He vented somewhat recently and was admonished for it because the players in this system are being asked to put their personal wishes behind the good of the team.
But Gortat is puzzled by his decreasing minutes, feeling as though he’s in reverse instead of progressing forward. He’s even wondering now why the Magic bothered matching the $34 million contract that Dallas offered him if there were no plans to play him more.
Gortat hasn’t been nearly as effective as he was last season, but some of that might be because of his lack of continuity with playing time. Thursday’s loss in Utah, a night when Lewis wasn’t playing particularly well and the Magic struggled to rebound the ball, seemed like the perfect night to play Gortat at power forward alongside of Howard at center.
The hope from all sides is that Gortat starts playing better and then ultimately he’ll start playing more. But I wouldn’t be shocked if a team in need of size (such as Portland, Houston or Phoenix) came to the Magic with a trade proposal after Dec. 15. Orlando won’t do a deal until Adonal Foyle is fully healthy, but anything seems possible now.
QUESTION: Hey J.D. I’ve been reading the talk about the Magic not getting enough respect. What worries me is that the Magic as a team put too much emphasis on the (lack of respect). Currently it’s working as a motivation but in plenty of situations teams that seek that hype can end up tripping over the acclaim when it does eventually arrive. Do you believe the Magic need to shut this out and concentrate purely on doing it each night on the floor. -- Kevin Fraser, Aberdeen, Scotland
J.D.: Athletes are strange in how they will search out sleights – perceived or real – to use as fuel for their inner fires. Michael Jordan used to make stuff up in his head to get himself enraged at the opponent.
Orlando’s lack of respect is both real and really meaningless. I mean, really, the only person who looks foolish when Tim Legler goes on TV and says that the Magic aren’t close to being as good as the Celtics is Legler himself. Did he not see the playoffs last spring? Did he not hear that the Magic won in Beantown a few weeks back?
The Magic are never going to be the national darlings, not as long as Kobe is in L.A., LeBron and Shaq are paired together in Cleveland and the tradition-rich Celtics are relevant in Boston. But the Magic weren’t picked to get through Philly (nice pick, Avery Johnson!), Boston (again, Legler) and Cleveland (the entire nation), but they did it anyway.
What the media thinks really matters very little. As Van Gundy often likes to point out: ``This isn’t the BCS.’’
Well, that’s all for this week. Please keeping sending those questions. The hope is to have another contest for more free tickets in the coming weeks, so keep ‘em coming. -- JD
John Denton writes for Orlandomagic.com. His Orlando Magic ``Behind the Scenes’’ segment can be heard on ESPN 1080 AM on Thursday at 5:05 p.m. Submit questions to John for his ``Ask J.D.’’ mailbag feature that will appear every Friday at AskJD@orlandomagic.com.
