Maybe Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy is finally realizing that his man in the middle, Dwight Howard, is coming dangerously close to receiving a one game suspension for his alarmingly ascending total of technical fouls committed? Or maybe, just maybe, the NBA’s biggest drama queen when it comes to coaches just wanted to hear his name mentioned in the news?
Either way, the Orlando coach has made his feelings known that when it comes to his 6‘11, 270 lb, and 4 time All Star center, that the men in pin-stripes officiating games have been unfairly targeting Dwight Howard. His recent comments on officials didn’t sit well with the NBA as the league has fined Van Gundy $35,000 for his negative diatribe.
At first hearing Van Gundy’s comments, surely most of us chalk it up to the animated and often attention grabbing coach once again attempting to take some of the pressure off of his players with another one of his lame comments. This time, he may not be totally off base as Howard already has 12 technical fouls, with nearly two thirds of the season to go.
Last season, Howard totaled 15 technicals, finishing one short of drawing an automatic 1 game suspension from league offices. Per league rules, once a player amasses 16 technical fouls, the player will be forced to sit out one game, with each additional 2 technicals drawing another suspension.
Here’s Van Gundy’s comments on Howard being unfairly targeted:
“Howard leads the NBA in technical fouls, receiving his 12th of the season Thursday night, leaving him only four away from an automatic suspension. ‘They (officials) are looking for him, no question. They make a call on him and they are looking for his reaction. Other guys get away with stuff. He’s going to have to accept that, they are looking for him. Every one of them (officials),’ Van Gundy said. ‘For other guys, they look away. He’s not going to be treated like everyone else in the league.’
Van Gundy’s reaction may have been fueled by Howard receiving a tech for saying “Damn” after dribbling the ball off his leg in a recent game against the Knicks while Ama’re Stoudemire did not receive one for yelling “Bull**it” in protest of a call.
Here’s Dwight Howard’s reaction to receiving his 12th technical:
“One year, I’m smiling too much,” he said. “Now I’m the bad boy.””It’s very tough not to get frustrated. I want to be as aggressive as I can. I want to be able to use all the gifts God blessed me to play with. Does it get frustrating? Yes. People might not understand it. They might see it as me complaining or arguing. I just want to go out there and play like everybody else.”
If you remember, Stan has been no stranger to making outlandish comments. He once targeted former player Shaquille O’Neal back in 2009, then a member of the Phoenix Suns, when he criticized the 15 time Star for continually flopping in a game against the Magic. The comments fueled a war of words where Shaq immediately fired back that Van Gundy is the “master of panic” and that he is to blame for Orlando’s problem winning big games.
Whether or not the officials are unfairly targeting “Superman II” (the original Superman will always be Shaq), Howard definitely needs to get his emotions in check since the league has made a point of eliminating any and all players complaints towards officials. Even with his new supporting cast in Gilbert Arenas, Jason Richardson, and Hedo Turkoglu looking good as of late, the Magic won’t go very far with Howard serving multiple suspensions for the remainder of the season.
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen also provides content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
