We had a joke all lined up. With Big Baby rumbling to 23 points and 12 rebounds, and with Dwight Howard in an injury/depressed/look at me funk, Orlando was setting themselves up. In his last three games before last night, Davis was averaging 21.3 points, 11 rebounds and 50 percent from the floor. For once, he WAS more useful than Howard. But somehow after hurting his lower back enough to be stretched out by the team’s physical therapist at midcourt before the third quarter, and with his shot not falling, Dwight didn’t give up. He did work. Read More »

I’m not sure I’ve ever heard this one before: a superstar DID NOT want to go to L.A. Yes, there were reports Dwight Howard never really wanted to go to the Lakers because he didn’t want to play second fiddle to Kobe, and didn’t want to follow in Shaq‘s footsteps. But now there is a report from The New York Post saying Howard specifically agreed to stay and play out at least this season with the Magic because the team threatened to pull the trigger on a deal with the Lakers. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Luol Deng finished his big night with 26 points, six rebounds, three assists, four steals and one block. He shot 43 percent (9-21) from the floor and 100 percent (8-8) from the free-throw line, and had one turnover. For the season, Deng has admirably produced top 50 averages for his fantasy basketball owners. His production shouldn’t be too damaged once Derrick Rose returns this weekend. Read More »

It being NBA Green Week and all, it seems natural a Dwight Howard-Van Gundy-Orlando issue would pop up again. It’s an evergreen issue, you see, and never quite goes away. So Dwight told someone in management he didn’t want SVG around as coach, and said manager told Stan, then Stan confirmed a TV report today. And then Dwight put his arm around Stan, not knowing what he’d just spilled. This is a soap opera. Read More »

If you need a blueprint for how to derail a playoff team’s season, just head down to Orlando. After rumors started circulating saying Dwight Howard asked team management to get rid of current head coach Stan Van Gundy, we doubted this would be solved any time before the summer. Instead today, we got confirmation. From Van Gundy himself. Read More »

For the Orlando Magic, reports are saying it’s pretty simple: to keep Dwight Howard, they need to get rid of head coach Stan Van Gundy. While this isn’t a guarantee Howard would stay around for a new coach, some believe it’s the Magic’s only chance to sign their franchise player to an extension this summer. Read More »

This was an interesting week in the NBA’s MVP race.

LeBron James has fallen victim to his own expectations, and has his eyes on a bigger prize. Kevin Durant wants this MVP more, and it has become evident. Tomorrow night OKC visits Miami and you should expect to see Durant come out victorious again as the Thunder are playing the best basketball they have ever played as a team, winning six straight against teams like the Clippers, Heat, Lakers and Bulls (before Monday’s loss against Memphis). Read More »

Could this be the week that Kevin Durant passes LeBron James? It’s been the topic of discussion for the majority of the week, leading up to their Sunday night faceoff (in which Durant came out on top). Many have come to the conclusion that Durant has finally edged LeBron for first place in the race to the MVP. LeBron has been having one of the most impressive seasons by an individual since Michael Jordan was playing. The month of March hasn’t been his best, but there’s a lot of basketball left to be played. Read More »

Chamberlain was 37 years old when he did it. Kareem was 38 his first time, did it again at 43, then did it better than perhaps any athlete in history when he was 63. Russell didn’t do it until he was 57, but has done it twice more since. Shaq did it twice to bookend his career – first at 22, again at 39 – and did it another time at the height of his powers, when he was 29 and on top of the world.

And now it’s time for Dwight Howard, 26 years old, to join the club. It’s time for Dwight to write his autobiography. Read More »

Last week was an interesting seven days for our MVP race. Derrick Rose has been out with an injury, which left room for others to move up in the ranks. D-Wade is back to playing MVP-worthy basketball, which makes things a bit tougher for LeBron individually. Kevin Durant’s level of play is ridiculously consistent, despite Russell Westbrook taking basically the same number of shots as him. Read More »