Orlando Magic News & Notes: Talk is Cheap

The Orlando Magic travel to the nation’s capital to take on the Washington Wizards tonight. You can read more about that game here.

Stan Van Gundy learned an important lesson when he was a college assistant.

"Van Gundy recalled an anecdote from his time as an assistant coach at Fordham University working for intense head coach Nick Macarchuk. After a particularly tough loss one night in Philadelphia in 1988, Van Gundy heard some laughing from players at the back of the team bus. Van Gundy remembered that he felt upset and that he expected Macarchuk to feel angry, too.“What is it you want them to do right now that’ll help us win the game we just lost?” Van Gundy recalled Macarchuk saying.Van Gundy said that has always stuck with him.“I can’t leave here tonight and be joking around,” Van Gundy said after the Raptors loss. “The only thing that matters in terms of their reaction is if we gain a resolve to make changes on Friday. That’s the only thing that matters.”"

You can read more Magic notes here.

Brian Schmitz offers his diagnosis of what is ailing the Magic.

"With five new players and injuries, Redick says, “It hasn’t been seamless. There hasn’t been much flow to it.”Lately, Howard has been held in check because of foul trouble, turnovers, double-teams and his own limited arsenal, scoring 11 or fewer points four times in the last six games (with the Magic going 2-4).He can overpower most centers, but has become predictable. When mediocre opponents can play him without double teams, they can better defend the 3-point line."

You can read that story here.

Dwight Howard continues to lead all Centers in voting while Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson are still being voted as starters.

"The Magic have four players who have been All-Stars in the past. Rashard Lewis, Jameer Nelson, Vince Carter and Dwight Howard. What helped the Magic get Lewis, Nelson and Howard into last year’s All-Star game was a phenomenal bunch of games they played in December and January. This time of year was when the Magic made their mark by going 16-2 between mid-December and mid-January. There were two 7-game winning streaks in there."

You can see the full story here. You can see the complete voting results here.

Gerald Narciso grades the NBA offseasons.

"Brandon Bass, (Magic, 4-years, $18 million):Why they signed him: Bass had a strong showing in last year’s playoffs as a member of the Mavs. GMs love the fact Bass is a big body and extremely explosive. His energy can really get his teammates and crowd going. Orlando probably envisioned Bass and Howard being one of the most athletic big man combos in the League.What they’ve gotten: Bass went from playing over 20 mpg in the beginning of the season when Rashard Lewis was suspended to sporadically seeing time. Bass has already racked up 12 DNP-CDs (did not play – coach’s decision). While Bass is probably just a victim of the numbers game, it clearly hasn’t worked out for him so far. Grade – C minus"

You can read the full story here.

Dwight Howard has updated his blog to talk about another good deed he has done. He also talked about Orlando’s schedule.

"My Magic are in DC tonight to play the Wizards and we’re focused on getting a W and getting back on track. Then, we turn around and play the Hawks again on Saturday night. We’ve had so many back-to-backs lately that it’s just been crazy.After that, we’re home one day (ONE DAY!!!) and then we head to the West Coast for the longest roadtrip of the season. It’s a crazy life, but it’s my life as a NBA player. It’s a tough stretch we’re in, but we’ve got to fight through it."

Read Dwight’s blog here.

(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger and a contributor at NFL Mocks Subscribe to his RSS feed and add him on Twitter to follow him daily.)