Stan Van Gundy And Otis Smith Shown The Door In Orlando

This was something we knew would happen as it was just when the axe would fall on Coach Stan Van Gundy and GM Otis Smith. Both of these men had issues with Dwight Howard and it looks like Orlando has taken Dwight Howard's side in all of this in the end. Orlando's official statement was they wanted new voices in this position. The real truth is Dwight Howard did not want them around and that is why they were shown the door. As a coach Stan van Gundy has average 55 wins for the Magic. With some of the teams he had that was a great job coaching. Besides Dwight Howard Van Gundy really did not have any top notch players. Most of the people he was given were either past their prime or basically a role player. I give Stan Van Gundy a lot of credit for the Magic success. Where do the Magic go from here? I am sure they will ask Dwight Howard what kind of coach he wants as it seems he has a lot of input into this. If the Magic fail to make the playoffs this coming season this will be a black mark on the organization. Letting a player determine the fate of your coach and others is just not the way to go.

Orlando Magic Must Win Without Dwight Howard

The Orlando Magic got the bad news that Dwight Howard will be out for some time with a herniated disk in his lower back. This is a blow to the Magic who have been struggling without him in the lineup. This means everyone else on the team will need to step up. I seriously doubt if others will step up as they have not done that all season long, so why would they start now. Without Howard in the middle it means Glen Davis will be the guy in the middle for the Orlando Magic. I will admit Davis has played well as a starter, but it's the others around him that have not done the job.


This season Orlando just has been to inconsistent and you cannot win an NBA Championship that way. With Dwight Howard out for an extended time do not look for the Magic to go very deep in the playoffs. They could be out after Round one and if that happens Stan Van Gundy could be out as well. These next two weeks will be interesting for the Orlando Magic and it will tell us a lot about the players they have on the roster right now.