ENUFF ALREADY....

By Terry Lyons

I've had enough of Stan Van Gundy.  

The former coach, fired by Orlando last season and also mysteriously banished from the Miami Heat back in the middle of the 2005-06 campaign, has been leaving a wake of negativity by taking his 'low road' approach towards his former organization after his dismissal by the Magic.

Dwight Howard and Stan Van Gundy

The target of his 'disgruntled former employee' rants are usually Dwight Howard and Magic team President Alex Martins, who worked his way up to team CEO from his starting position as the director of public relations in 1989. So, while the 'Dwight-Mare" summer of 2012 is concluding with Howard finally traded to the LA Lakers, Van Gundy continued to open the sores of days gone by with an appearance on Orlando sports talk radio.

Van Gundy told Mike Bianchi and his side-kick Brian Fritz, “It’s a typical lack of understanding from someone who has no sports knowledge, who has never coached, who has never played, who has never been in a lockeroom….it’s a naivete,” Van Gundy said of Martins Monday morning on the Mike Bianchi show on AM 740 in Orlando, Florida.

“I think Alex’s comments are based on the fact that Dwight and, maybe others, didn’t like me…and thinking somehow that’s important.”

Earlier in the interview, he said, "A lot changed in the make-up of our organization.  When Bob (Van der Weide) was there, when Bob left, it really became Alex over everything.  Otis had to report to Alex.  What happened to sum it up, and I have, I'll take my share of the blame, we had developed a very good culture.  Team first, hard work, preparation.  Otis and I were on the same page.  The Dwight thing was so big, in an effort to make Dwight happy, we compromised a lot of the culture we had before.  When you compromise those things, it was no longer a team first thing."

I say, "Muzzle it, Stan."

Yes, excuse me for disagreeing with Mr. Dean Smith here... or the new Dr Naismith Jr.?

Yes, the head coach at UMass Lowell and the assistant at Canisius learned much, much more about the game than the rest of us mere basketball mortals, especially those who didn't spend our formative basketball years at Castleton State College but, instead, were being instructed by the likes of Hubie Brown, Dick Harter, Mike Fratello, Billy Cunningham, Alex Hannum, Red Auerbach, Pete Newell, Jerry Sloan, Rudy T, KC Jones, Doug Moe, Chuck Daly, -- I could go on....

Oh, yes, don't forget Stan Naismith got to sit in the 2nd chair next to Rick Pitino disciple Stu Jackson while he was at Wisconsin. And, they made it to the NIT!

Stan? Just because the guy came from PR, he was never in the locker?  No sports knowledge? Never on the mountain top, like you?  In NFL terms, rather than NBA, the Ph D. in public relations, the very core of an organization, seemed to work for Pete Rozelle? Roger Goodell?

Stop disgracing the game and your profession with the constant bickering, Stan, you

frickin light weight ...

Monday Morning Media Mania

In the summer of '69, there once was a rock show, a three-day extravaganza, known as Woodstock. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of Woodstock this summer, I frequently ran a video clip on Monday morning and referred to it as my "Monday Morning Maniac Music."

That has run its course.

So, now, I will take a minute of your Monday, Monday to post an interesting media clip. Sometimes it will be news, sometimes, music, sometimes sports and sometimes a combination of all.

To start it off, I am posting a clip about Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic who took part in the NBA's Basketball without Borders program this past summer. Both Dwight and the program are dear to my heart. He is the perfect example of a human being who benefitted more from giving his time to the Basketball without Borders program than he would have ever imagined before attending the camp.

Here is the first "Monday Morning Media Mania" newsclip:

NBAE:

HEDO'H! -- Get your NBA tid-bits and some live bloggin' a comin'

Chris Sheridan, the former AP basketball writer and currently the lead columnist of ESPN.com Insider section for NBA coverage, has a wonderfully insightful story currently posted on the options facing the Orlando Magic and their star player Hedo Turkoglu of Turkey.  Hedo has been the key contributor, glue-man, scorer, part-time point forward, tough match-up player that compliments Dwight Howard the Magic's all-star center as well as Rashard Lewis. the Magic's other bookend/swingmen scorer.  Turkoglu seemed to perform better without the presence of Jameer Nelson, the other Magic all-star who returned in the NBA Finals to play the point guard alongside Rafer Alston.  Nelson rejoined the team after returning from an injury suffered in mid-season.

Anyway, after Hedo missed two IMPORTANT Free throws in Game 4 (see 5:06 left in the fourth quarter) when the Magic were trailing, 77-76, we joked a bit that the back page newspaper headlines could've read:  HE-DON'T. But, things actually got worse for the young magic team and Dwight Howard bailed him out by missing two EVEN BIGGER free throws at the 11-second mark in regulation.  Keep in mind, Orlando led the pivotal game four, 87-82 with 1:34 left, but lost in overtime after two clutch Derek Fisher three-pointers.

Attention Magic fans: You may want to savor the sight of Hedo Turkoglu wearing an Orlando uniform Sunday night in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, because it may be the last time it happens.

Why?

Because the Magic may not be able to afford to keep him.

Turkoglu has a player option for the 2009-10 season for $7.36 million, but sources have told ESPN.com that Orlando's 30-year-old starting small forward is 100 percent certain to exercise his right to terminate his contract, which will make him an unrestricted free agent as of July 1.

At that point, it will become a question of what kind of contract Turkoglu can command -- and it will likely be five years at an annual price significantly higher than the $7.36 million he is forsaking. And then it will become a question of whether the Magic can move enough salary through trades to pay Turkoglu his market value while staying beneath the luxury-tax threshold, which was $71.15 million this season but could drop into the high 60 millions for the upcoming season.

"We're not a team that would relish being in the tax, and with that said, we have our work to do, and we'll do our due diligence in doing our work. We like Turk, and we want to keep Turk here in a Magic uniform, but there are some challenges in doing that," Orlando general manager Otis Smith told ESPN.com on Saturday. "Management doesn't want to be a tax team, but that doesn't mean it won't happen. We haven't been a tax team in three years, but that doesn't necessarily mean we won't be going forward."

Smith went on to say it'll come down to a question of what is reasonable and what is not.

And that is where his own history could come back to haunt him.

Almost every summer, there is one NBA free agent who ends up with a contract of eye-popping size.

Last year, it was Monta Ellis getting $66 million from Golden State. Three years ago, it was Ben Wallace getting $60 million from Chicago. The year before, it was Larry Hughes getting a $70 million offer from Cleveland as a restricted free agent -- an offer that Washington was unwilling to match.

And two years ago, it was Smith who opened the Magic's checkbook to Rashard Lewis, granting him $113 million for six years in a sign-and-trade deal with the Seattle SuperSonics.

Lewis is due to make $18.01 million in 2009-10 and Dwight Howard is on the books for $15.1 million, the two of them combining to take up more than half of Orlando's cap space. Also under contract are Tony Battie ($6.3 million), Jameer Nelson ($6.1 million), Rafer Alston ($5.2 million), J.J. Redick ($2.8 million), Anthony Johnson ($2.1 million) and Courtney Lee ($1.3 million), while Marcin Gortat will be a restricted free agent and Tyronn Lue, Adonal Foyle and Jeremy Richardson will come off Orlando's cap.

In order to clear the funds to re-sign Turkoglu and stay under the tax, the Magic may need to look for ways to move Alston, Battie and/or Johnson without taking back equal salary in return -- an extremely tall order in an NBA economy in which several teams will be looking to shed salary.

"We have a plan, we're in motion on the plan. Yeah, it would be a key loss to lose Turk because he's been such a vital part of what we do for a number of years," Smith said. "But that doesn't necessarily mean we're going to break the bank to keep him or not break the bank to keep him, it's just that he's a vital part of what we do."

The work Smith must do to keep Turkoglu will begin after the NBA Finals end and will continue through June 30, when the draft will have passed and teams have a better idea of what the leaguewide financial picture looks like going forward. This year, the moratorium on signings has been shortened from eight days to seven, and July 8 is the date that pen can first touch paper.

Based upon conversations with numerous league sources, ESPN.com has learned enough information to lay out the most plausible scenarios regarding Turkoglu moving forward:

Staying in Orlando

How much space can the Magic clear and what do they consider a reasonable price for Turkoglu? Anything too far north of a $10 million starting salary might tilt the scales toward unreasonable for their situation. Furthermore, what remains to be seen is whether Turkoglu would stay in Orlando at a price below market value.

Signing with Detroit, or going to the Pistons in a sign-and-trade

Detroit has Allen Iverson ($21.9 million) and Rasheed Wallace ($13.7) coming off the cap, and would like to get as far as $23 million under the cap, which would give the Pistons the ability to acquire two high-level free agents. Impacting their financial equation will be Kwame Brown's decision this month on whether to pick up his player option of $4.1 million for next season, and Joe Dumars' efforts to move Amir Johnson's expiring $3.6 million deal without taking back an equal contract in return.

If the Pistons find themselves stuck with both of those players, their best option to make a pair of impact acquisitions would probably involve moving Tayshaun Prince (owed $21.5 million over the next two seasons) as part of a sign-and-trade deal for an unrestricted free agent, whether it is Turkoglu, Carlos Boozer, Lamar Odom or someone else.

Signing with Toronto, or going to the Raptors in a sign-and-trade

The recent Jason Kapono-Reggie Evans trade took $1.2 million off the Raptors' cap commitment for next season, and they could get roughly $10 million under the cap by shedding Patrick O'Bryant (who has only a partial guarantee). If the Pistons yearn for another free agent more than they covet Turkoglu, the Raptors become more of a factor. Toronto also still holds the NBA rights to Carlos Delfino, who could be used in a sign-and-trade.

Signing with Portland, or going to the Trail Blazers in a sign-and-trade

Because Darius Miles went back on the Blazers' books for $9 million midway through the 2009-10 season, their cap space for the upcoming season has shrunk to somewhere around $7-9 million, depending on whether they renounce their rights to overseas players Petteri Koponen and Joel Freeland.

Some sources, while cautioning against Portland's proclivity for subterfuge, are saying the Blazers covet a point guard upgrade from Steve Blake more than they covet a small forward upgrade from Nicolas Batum. If that's the case, they might decide to swing an uneven trade, salary-wise, in which they use their cap space to bring in a top-tier point guard rather than Turkoglu or another small forward.

Going somewhere else

Possibilities include such teams as Sacramento (where Turkoglu began his NBA career), which could acquire Turkoglu via a three-team sign-and-trade that would be brokered by Memphis or Oklahoma City, two teams with an abundance of cap space. The Grizzlies and Thunder themselves are not expected to be interested in Turkoglu, given that they have his position filled and are undertaking youth movements.

Chris Sheridan covers the NBA for ESPN Insider. 

Orlando Wins... We Have a SERIES!

Across the Pond:
Magic Ace the “Character Building Game” and “We Have a Series!”

By Terry Lyons
http://www.terrylyons.com

ORLANDO, USA – The character building “Big Game 3" of the 2009 NBA Finals did just that – it built the very foundation of a model NBA franchise, that has only seen the promised land of the NBA Finals twice in its existence. The “Big Game 3” victory built the character of the young Orlando Magic. It certainly secured the long-term future of an NBA expansion club which put the finishing touches on NBA’s late ‘80s growth to the southeast United States when the team hung its opening night banner in sunny, central Florida, USA some 20 years ago and will pave the way for the team to open a brand new arena a few blocks west of their now-dated Amway Arena.

The victory was the first Finals win for a club which recorded an 0-6 record in only two championship series appearances in its history.

Yes, the Orlando Magic came of age tonight and the exciting, young club remains a serious threat to the Los Angeles Lakers in this NBA championship battle. If the Magic can continue to play the kind of basketball they portrayed tonight, they can force the series back to Los Angeles where the Lakers will have to defend the home court advantage they gained during the NBA’s long regular season. The Magic won the game in the first half as it was a highly entertaining game where each team shot scorching percentages from the field. (Orlando 75% and LA 54%).

In the final boxscore report, the Magic displayed a balanced scoring attack with three players scoring over 20 points and an amazing shooting display of 40-of-65 accuracyfor a stunning 62.5 team percentage, an NBA Finals record. The Magic only faltered late in the third quarter when guard Rafer Alston tried to take on too much responsibility as he forced the ball and thus, forced the Magic offense into turnovers and poorly executed shots. To succeed, the Magic need to move, space and work the ball to get open ‘looks’ from their top outside shooters (Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu and Mickael Pietrus. However, their Number 1 option of hitting center Dwight Howard inside for baby hook after baby hook should remain “the” game plan for the Magic in the same way the Lakers of Yesteryear, via play calls form Coach Pat Riley, regularly called for the "fist" to indicate to legendary point guard Magic Johnson to get the ball into the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and “sky-hook” extraordinaire Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Now, Howard is no Kareem, but he can be a dominant force inside and out. And, keep in mind, young Dwight Howard is just a babe. He will be the backbone and foundation of the American team come the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

In the postgame analysis, Orlando Coach Stan Van Gundy bounded into the interview room with a bit of a high-step and a voice of confidence. His counterpart, Phil Jackson, the legendary coach of Chicago Bulls teams of the ‘90s and the Lakers of the year 2000-plus, showed his usual air of cool, calmness. Phil and his cast of Big Chief Triangle assistants will be reviewing tape until sun-up.

“I’ve said it throughout the season and throughout these playoffs,” noted Van Gundy, “The one thing that you can’t question with our team is their resilience in situations like this, whether it’s from game-to-game or minute-to-minute. Our team will keep playing.

“We’ve had bad games, like Game 1 of this series, but it’s never a matter of our resilience or quitting or anything like that.”

Kobe Bryant had an interesting take on the Magic’s performance in Game 3, stating, “This is a tough team. This ain’t no cup-cake team,” said Bryant in a tone portraying the utmost respect and his sincere compliment of the young Orlando team.

“Well, I mean, this is a team that’s been through adverse situations. They went to Boston and won Game 7 and went to Cleveland and almost took the first two there. They are extremely well coached, they execute well and we’ve got our work cut out.”

The work begins at practice later today (June 10th), and continued when Game 4 is played on Thursday, June 11th. The nay-sayers who swing with the pendulum of an NBA Finals series are no longer talking ‘sweep’ and no longer looking to book flights on Friday morning.

They’ll be a nice, long weekend of pro basketball in Orlando, Florida and the Lakers and Magic will put it all on the line come Thursday night in downtown Orlando.

Terry Lyons, Contributor
A former communications and media executive at the NBA, Terry has behind-the-scenes knowledge that few others could boast. His vast experience, contacts list and knowledge of the game make him a star asset to 24/7's writing team. Lyons is currently running his own communications firm in Boston, Massachusetts while proudly helping the management team of his favorite restaurant, “Johnnie’s on the Side” at 138 Portland Street, a block from the TD Bank Boston garden.

For more information on Terry Lyons, see:
Terry Lyons: http://www.terrylyons.com

Terry Lyons’ Blog: http://terrylyons.blogspot.com

Basketball 24/7 ... Thoughts before Game 3

As recently as the 2006 NBA Finals, a team with a locker room full of character was facing a 2-0 deficit in the best-of-seven game championship series.

By Terry Lyons.

That team, the Miami Heat of Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal fame, came back to take the league title in a thrilling and memorable manner, toasting with pricey bottles of champagne while lighting victory cigars after an impressive and relentless dispatching of the Dallas Mavericks of Texas in six games.

The Heat, down 2-0 in that 2006 title series, took it to extreme measures as they battled back from a 13-point deficit late in the pivotal Game 3 while unearthing championship level qualities of team character, team defense, trust and the ability to properly face adversity while they served as proximity witness to the total collapse of their opponent, the Mavs.

In that series, Dallas team owner Mark Cuban lit a spark of over-confidence in a champagne room while fanning a flame of arrogance when his team took the early series lead. The Mavericks self-imploded as they dropped the final four consecutive games of the series while former Dallas Coach Avery Johnson, watching helplessly, bucked like a broken bronco as he attempted to re-start the team's jet-engines only to find them failing miserably as his club fell from the sky. Johnson, trying to defend his team's honour and acting in a fit of absolute despair, did the one and only thing that he thought would work. He called out a "mayday" on his local beat reporter, and immediately losing the respect of the entire basketball world of fans, friends, innocent bystanders and observers, including his own players (thank you, Dirk) when he called out and blamed the media.

The Heat seized the moment, jumped on the opportunity and stepped up to fight the fight with Wade leading the charge while Shaq and Zo (Alonzo Mourning) took on the twin-engine role as commanders when they led their team to the promised land of NBA dreams.

Can the young Orlando Magic accomplish the same feat? We'll see tonight when the Magic play host to Game 3 of the 2009 NBA Finals on their own home court, while simultaneously pitching some Amway products from downtown Orlando, a Orange County speed-trap an hour or so from the place where dreams are made, Walt Disney World.

The Magic will have to scale a daunting 2-0 (deficit) wall without the aid of an opponent who is self-destructing. Unlike the Cuban-crisis Mavericks of '06, the LA Lakers have "been there" before. The experienced former NBA Most Valuable Player, Kobe Bryant, is saying all the right things as the two teams trekked cross country from the city of Angels to the land of make believe in hum-drum central Florida.

Bryant is seeking his fourth NBA championship and a place alongside his two main rivals in former teammate Shaquille O'Neal and San Antonio Spurs frontman Tim Duncan, the trio who can claim the title of the most dominant NBA players of the last 10 basketball seasons. During that time, Bryant managed to earn a gold medal with the 2008 USA Basketball Olympic team while O'Neal (winner of gold in the 1994 World Championship in Toronto plus the1996 Olympic Games in Hot-lanta) and Duncan (a bronzed goose egg with the 2004 USA team). Lebron James, you might wonder, has only a 0-4 showing in the 2007 NBA Finals to show on his 'big-game' resume. (Note to 24/7 readers: Mr. James, the clock is officially running, as of now).

The Lakers, anchored by a low-post offensive threat from Catalonia's very best in Pau Gasol, are showing signs of improvement as they press into the final round of the NBA playoff marathon. Gasol, together with defensive team anchor Lamar Odom, are impressive both offensively and defensively. Meanwhile, the LA backcourt has thoroughly outplayed the Magic guards which is forcing Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy to re-work his lineup to play 6-10 swingman Hedo Turkoglu of Turkey at the point-forward position in an attempt to mix-up the match-ups and force the Lakers into changes in their rotations.

So, as Game 3 fast approaches, the questions are easy and they are these:

Will home-court change the tide of the 2009 NBA Finals as the Magic return to their downtown O-Rena home?

Will Dwight Howard step-up in a big-time way and show the kind of character that true champions are made of?

Will Rafer Alston and Jameer Nelson be able to pick themselves up off the canvas and play at an NBA Finals championship level against a veteran point guard like Derek Fisher of the Lakers?

Will Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis bring on an offensive barrage to knock the Lakers off balance?

Can the Magic become only the fourth team in NBA history to battle back from an 0-2 deficit to win a Finals? Or even more basic, will the Magic get the proverbial 'monkey off their back' and finally win their very first NBA Finals game - after six attempts have gone south (0-4 to Houston in 1995 and 0-2 to the current LA Lakers)?

They have the man, as Howard is a proven Olympic champion but Bryant is the champion of champions and many of the Lakers are multi-time NBA champions. And, remember this nearly biblical and certainly historical quotation from the one-and-only Rudy T, the great coach of the NBA champion Houston Rockets:

"Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion."