Denton: Magic-Clippers Notes
By John Denton
December 8, 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.
LOS ANGELES – Lost in some of the criticism of Dwight Howard’s growth as an offensive force from the likes of TNT analyst Charles Barkley is the superstar’s relative young age, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said.
For the record, Howard turned 24 years old on Tuesday. Howard said that he not only sometimes has to remind himself that he’s just 24 years old, but he also has to remind others around him as well.
Van Gundy said Howard has shown tremendous growth in terms of his patience in the post, passing when the situation calls for it instead of forcing up shots. That progress was evident early on Tuesday night when Howard not only battered the Los Angeles Clippers for 12 points and two blocked shots, but also three assists. Howard had a hand in 14 of Orlando’s first 18 points, helping the Magic get off to a great start.
``Dwight’s still very young, but because he’s been in the league as long as he has people tend to forget how young he still is,’’ Van Gundy said. ``Go back and look at where some of the best players were when they were 24 years old and you realize there’s still plenty of time for growth.’’
Van Gundy said he has no problem with Howard taking an occasional jump shot, a weapon he’s worked to add during the summer. But Howard tends to hesitate because he simply detests missing shots, especially ones of the low percentage variety.
``I don’t have a problem with (taking jumpers), but going into games we’re playing to win and playing to our strengths,’’ Van Gundy said. ``Game time is not the development time, it’s winning time. I don’t have a problem with him taking a turn-around jumper, but Dwight really does a great job of staying within himself and playing to his strengths.’’
J-WILL’S BOOS: Magic point guard Jason Williams was booed each time he touched the ball Tuesday night. Williams chose to retire last summer rather than play for the lowly Clippers. But Williams responded favorably to the negative reaction from Clippers fans, scoring 12 first-half points.
Williams tried to come back midway through last season, but the attempt was denied when a league-wide petition failed. An offseason resident of Orlando for years, he signed a free-agent deal with the Magic in July.
Williams has played well for a Magic team without starter Jameer Nelson. He came into Tuesday’s game averaging 10 points and 6.2 assists in his nine games as a starter.
ETC: It’s become somewhat of a running joke among Magic players that when reserve power forward Brandon Bass catches the ball in the post, a shot is likely going up. Bass had seemed to have played his way back into the rotation with a better focus on defense and rebounding the ball, but he didn’t play Tuesday night. Van Gundy said Bass takes plenty of ribbing from his teammates. ``He is a really good scorer, but Brandon is such a good-natured guy that the guys like to mess with him and he gets a lot of grief,’’ Van Gundy said. … Howard was a busy man during his time off the court in Los Angeles, doing a cover photo shoot for the April issue of Men’s Health on Sunday and filming an adidas-themed All-Star Game commercial Monday night. Howard’s work off the court helped him get the most all-star votes in the history of the game last season. … The Magic play a franchise high 24 times on national television this season, and two of them come Thursday in Utah (on TNT) and Friday in Phoenix (on ESPN).
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 DentonDecember 8, 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.
LOS ANGELES – Lost in some of the criticism of Dwight Howard’s growth as an offensive force from the likes of TNT analyst Charles Barkley is the superstar’s relative young age, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said.
For the record, Howard turned 24 years old on Tuesday. Howard said that he not only sometimes has to remind himself that he’s just 24 years old, but he also has to remind others around him as well.
Van Gundy said Howard has shown tremendous growth in terms of his patience in the post, passing when the situation calls for it instead of forcing up shots. That progress was evident early on Tuesday night when Howard not only battered the Los Angeles Clippers for 12 points and two blocked shots, but also three assists. Howard had a hand in 14 of Orlando’s first 18 points, helping the Magic get off to a great start.
``Dwight’s still very young, but because he’s been in the league as long as he has people tend to forget how young he still is,’’ Van Gundy said. ``Go back and look at where some of the best players were when they were 24 years old and you realize there’s still plenty of time for growth.’’
Van Gundy said he has no problem with Howard taking an occasional jump shot, a weapon he’s worked to add during the summer. But Howard tends to hesitate because he simply detests missing shots, especially ones of the low percentage variety.
``I don’t have a problem with (taking jumpers), but going into games we’re playing to win and playing to our strengths,’’ Van Gundy said. ``Game time is not the development time, it’s winning time. I don’t have a problem with him taking a turn-around jumper, but Dwight really does a great job of staying within himself and playing to his strengths.’’
J-WILL’S BOOS: Magic point guard Jason Williams was booed each time he touched the ball Tuesday night. Williams chose to retire last summer rather than play for the lowly Clippers. But Williams responded favorably to the negative reaction from Clippers fans, scoring 12 first-half points.
Williams tried to come back midway through last season, but the attempt was denied when a league-wide petition failed. An offseason resident of Orlando for years, he signed a free-agent deal with the Magic in July.
Williams has played well for a Magic team without starter Jameer Nelson. He came into Tuesday’s game averaging 10 points and 6.2 assists in his nine games as a starter.
ETC: It’s become somewhat of a running joke among Magic players that when reserve power forward Brandon Bass catches the ball in the post, a shot is likely going up. Bass had seemed to have played his way back into the rotation with a better focus on defense and rebounding the ball, but he didn’t play Tuesday night. Van Gundy said Bass takes plenty of ribbing from his teammates. ``He is a really good scorer, but Brandon is such a good-natured guy that the guys like to mess with him and he gets a lot of grief,’’ Van Gundy said. … Howard was a busy man during his time off the court in Los Angeles, doing a cover photo shoot for the April issue of Men’s Health on Sunday and filming an adidas-themed All-Star Game commercial Monday night. Howard’s work off the court helped him get the most all-star votes in the history of the game last season. … The Magic play a franchise high 24 times on national television this season, and two of them come Thursday in Utah (on TNT) and Friday in Phoenix (on ESPN).
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.
