Denton: Howard Fully Supports Van Gundy
By John Denton
November 20, 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.
BOSTON – In an attempt to find the reason behind his team’s lagging energy and inconsistent play, Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy went to star center Dwight Howard earlier in the week for answers.
What Van Gundy heard was a somewhat critical critique of his intense coaching style, but it was an assessment that he deemed accurate and correctable.
As for Howard, he wants it known that he fully supports his coach and appreciated the opportunity to speak on behalf of his teammates for the betterment of the Magic. Both feel like the clear-the-air session will only make the Magic better – starting tonight at 8 p.m. in a pivotal showdown against the Boston Celtics.
When approached by his coach, Howard told Van Gundy he thought the Magic were struggling with the weight of the expectations following last season’s run to the NBA Final. And he vented about how injuries and illness have hurt the Magic’s continuity. And Howard asked the ever-demanding Van Gundy to tone down some of his negativity, especially on the bench during games.
``He asked me what my opinion was and it wasn’t like I came in there complaining to him,’’ Howard said. ``I know that coach wants nothing but the best for us. But sometimes basketball players are like little puppies and we want our owners to pat us on the head and tell us, `Good job.’ I know even when I make a mistake I like sometimes for my dad to say that it’s OK and we’ll get ‘em next time.
``As a team we already have lots of pressure on us and we all want to do well, and that’s what I told coach,’’ Howard continued. ``Stan’s a great guy and he’s going to continue to stay on us and I don’t want him to stop that. I just told him that as a team we have a lot of new guys who aren’t used to the way that he coaches and sometimes it’s just a matter of how you deal with them.’’
Van Gundy can often be as critical on himself as he is on his players and he admitted that he had become too consumed with the negatives of a 9-3 start to the season. Van Gundy said that he was willing to make changes in his critiques, but as he said a day earlier he could never become ``Miss Mary Sunshine.’’ He’ll still be as hard-charging and demanding as ever, he said, but he’ll try to do it in more of a constructive way in the future.
``Over the course of my career I do sometimes slide back into too much negativity,’’ he admitted. ``It’s always sort of up and down. I’ve gone too far the other way now and I’ve got to bring it back. I don’t think people will notice any major differences, but hopefully I’ll react a little better on the bench, hopefully my comments will be more constructive than critical.’’
Van Gundy said Howard’s honest assessment speaks volumes about the relationship the coach and star center have built in two-plus seasons. Van Gundy said that Howard had always been reticent in the past to speak up about any issues that he had, and him coming forward was proof the two are making progress.
``I came to (Howard) because I’m not in the locker room every day, hearing what everybody is saying and feeling and I saw us with a lack of energy,’’ he said. ``If I ask, I want honesty. You can’t work out the problems if Dwight is walking on eggshells and beating around the bush. (The negativity) was one of the factors.
``You hope over time that with your players the relationship gets better and more honest. Dwight’s problem is he’s a guy who doesn’t complain very much. He’s always been a little reticent to come to a coach and say he doesn’t like this or that. That’s just not him. So I thought this was a real good step for him.’’
Howard said he feels like the Magic are close to snapping out of an early-season malaise that plagued the team somewhat. He thinks that as the Magic get more players back healthy the team will soon resemble the one that beat Boston and Cleveland in the playoffs and made it to the NBA Finals.
``I think that’s the best way to handle it, me being the leader of the team and being able to talk to coach and talk to the team,’’ he said. ``We’re like a family and we’re going to have problems. But if we continue to grow we should be great going to the end of the season.’’
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.
By John DentonNovember 20, 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.
BOSTON – In an attempt to find the reason behind his team’s lagging energy and inconsistent play, Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy went to star center Dwight Howard earlier in the week for answers.
What Van Gundy heard was a somewhat critical critique of his intense coaching style, but it was an assessment that he deemed accurate and correctable.
As for Howard, he wants it known that he fully supports his coach and appreciated the opportunity to speak on behalf of his teammates for the betterment of the Magic. Both feel like the clear-the-air session will only make the Magic better – starting tonight at 8 p.m. in a pivotal showdown against the Boston Celtics.
When approached by his coach, Howard told Van Gundy he thought the Magic were struggling with the weight of the expectations following last season’s run to the NBA Final. And he vented about how injuries and illness have hurt the Magic’s continuity. And Howard asked the ever-demanding Van Gundy to tone down some of his negativity, especially on the bench during games.
``He asked me what my opinion was and it wasn’t like I came in there complaining to him,’’ Howard said. ``I know that coach wants nothing but the best for us. But sometimes basketball players are like little puppies and we want our owners to pat us on the head and tell us, `Good job.’ I know even when I make a mistake I like sometimes for my dad to say that it’s OK and we’ll get ‘em next time.
``As a team we already have lots of pressure on us and we all want to do well, and that’s what I told coach,’’ Howard continued. ``Stan’s a great guy and he’s going to continue to stay on us and I don’t want him to stop that. I just told him that as a team we have a lot of new guys who aren’t used to the way that he coaches and sometimes it’s just a matter of how you deal with them.’’
Van Gundy can often be as critical on himself as he is on his players and he admitted that he had become too consumed with the negatives of a 9-3 start to the season. Van Gundy said that he was willing to make changes in his critiques, but as he said a day earlier he could never become ``Miss Mary Sunshine.’’ He’ll still be as hard-charging and demanding as ever, he said, but he’ll try to do it in more of a constructive way in the future.
``Over the course of my career I do sometimes slide back into too much negativity,’’ he admitted. ``It’s always sort of up and down. I’ve gone too far the other way now and I’ve got to bring it back. I don’t think people will notice any major differences, but hopefully I’ll react a little better on the bench, hopefully my comments will be more constructive than critical.’’
Van Gundy said Howard’s honest assessment speaks volumes about the relationship the coach and star center have built in two-plus seasons. Van Gundy said that Howard had always been reticent in the past to speak up about any issues that he had, and him coming forward was proof the two are making progress.
``I came to (Howard) because I’m not in the locker room every day, hearing what everybody is saying and feeling and I saw us with a lack of energy,’’ he said. ``If I ask, I want honesty. You can’t work out the problems if Dwight is walking on eggshells and beating around the bush. (The negativity) was one of the factors.
``You hope over time that with your players the relationship gets better and more honest. Dwight’s problem is he’s a guy who doesn’t complain very much. He’s always been a little reticent to come to a coach and say he doesn’t like this or that. That’s just not him. So I thought this was a real good step for him.’’
Howard said he feels like the Magic are close to snapping out of an early-season malaise that plagued the team somewhat. He thinks that as the Magic get more players back healthy the team will soon resemble the one that beat Boston and Cleveland in the playoffs and made it to the NBA Finals.
``I think that’s the best way to handle it, me being the leader of the team and being able to talk to coach and talk to the team,’’ he said. ``We’re like a family and we’re going to have problems. But if we continue to grow we should be great going to the end of the season.’’
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.
