Denton: Van Gundy Demands Better Defensive Effort
By John Denton
November 10, 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.
Stan Van Gundy delivered one of his classic ``the sky is falling’’ postgame rants late Sunday night, hoping to get the attention of an Orlando Magic team that has slipped into a slump defensively.
The problem was he had given a very similar speech just two nights earlier, calling into question the Magic’s willingness to be a great team.
It is Van Gundy’s nature to call it as he sees it, and if he steps on a few toes and bruises and ego or two along the way, well, so be it. That relentless, hard-driving nature and refusal to settle for mediocrity are just two of the reasons that Orlando got to the NBA Finals last June and is again one of the favorites to win the NBA championship.
But for now, Van Gundy is more worried about the Magic’s mindset than he is their rash of recent bad luck. Star guard Vince Carter has missed three games because of a sprained ankle, sweet-shooting forward Ryan Anderson is expected to miss at least a week with an ankle sprain and franchise cornerstone Rashard Lewis has yet to suit up in the regular season because of a NBA suspension.
It’s defense, first and foremost, that is the Magic’s most pressing issue. And even though Orlando is 5-2 heading into Tuesday night’s game in Charlotte, Van Gundy wants a better focus put into stopping foes. He knows it is defense that will carry the Magic through tough road games and on poor shooting nights, ones like Sunday’s 102-74 loss to Oklahoma City.
Van Gundy wants a change in the Magic’s mindset, and admittedly he isn’t a patient man when it comes to his team casting a mellow attitude toward defense.
``We’re just not doing it; that’s not us. We’re a white collar team right now,’’ Van Gundy said, mocking his team’s defensive mindset. ``Those teams won’t win on the road and they won’t win in games they don’t shoot well. That’s us.
``I thought we would have had it by now,’’ he continued. ``We’ve seen our defensive numbers and we know how bad we’ve been defensively. It doesn’t seem to bother anybody in our locker room right now.’’
It certainly bothers Van Gundy, and he’s been quick to point out some of the Magic’s most troubling defensive numbers. He’s frustrated that the Magic are giving up too many open shots, fouling too often and allowing offensive struggles to affect defensive effort.
Here are some of the numbers that are most irritating to Van Gundy:
---- That Magic are in the middle of the pack in points allowed (99.5 per game), ranking 14th in the league.
---- Despite having the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in Dwight Howard and top wing defenders Mickael Pietrus and Matt Barnes, the Magic rank 24th in field goal percentage allowed (47.5 percent) and 23rd in 3-point field goal percentage allowed (40 percent).
---- Making matters worse defensively, the Magic haven’t been particularly opportunistic and have provided foes with easy opportunities. Orlando ranks 20th in blocks (4.57), 29th in steals (5.85) and 21st in fouls (21.85).
``We don’t make an effort. There’s no defensive mentality, no toughness,’’ Van Gundy fumed. ``All you have to do is look at the numbers – we’re one of the worst defensive teams in this league. Those teams will not win on the road, they won’t win games that they don’t shoot the ball well and that makes you mediocre at best, and that’s what we are.’’
Many would argue with Van Gundy on that assessment. One thing that would help the Magic most of all now would be improved health. And Orlando does hope to get Carter back tonight against the Bobcats in Charlotte. That should help the Magic be much more competitive offensively and return other players to more of their traditional roles.
For whatever reason, a Magic team with five new faces has meshed quicker offensively than defensively. At times, Orlando has scored so easily that their defensive slippage has been hidden under flurries of points.
Magic All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson said Orlando must adjust its mindset and turn more of its focus on stopping foes instead of simply trying to outscore them.
``We have to shift our attention from the offense to the defense,’’ Nelson said. ``We have to focus more and hustle on the defensive end. We can’t use struggling on offense as an excuse.’’
The Magic have had a knack of bouncing back in a big way after a loss/Van Gundy rant over the past two-plus seasons. The coach told his players the same thing that he said to the media on Sunday night, and he seemed to lay down a gauntlet of sorts for his Magic in tonight’s game in Charlotte.
``We need to find some toughness on our roster,’’ Van Gundy said.
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 DentonNovember 10, 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.
Stan Van Gundy delivered one of his classic ``the sky is falling’’ postgame rants late Sunday night, hoping to get the attention of an Orlando Magic team that has slipped into a slump defensively.
The problem was he had given a very similar speech just two nights earlier, calling into question the Magic’s willingness to be a great team.
It is Van Gundy’s nature to call it as he sees it, and if he steps on a few toes and bruises and ego or two along the way, well, so be it. That relentless, hard-driving nature and refusal to settle for mediocrity are just two of the reasons that Orlando got to the NBA Finals last June and is again one of the favorites to win the NBA championship.
But for now, Van Gundy is more worried about the Magic’s mindset than he is their rash of recent bad luck. Star guard Vince Carter has missed three games because of a sprained ankle, sweet-shooting forward Ryan Anderson is expected to miss at least a week with an ankle sprain and franchise cornerstone Rashard Lewis has yet to suit up in the regular season because of a NBA suspension.
It’s defense, first and foremost, that is the Magic’s most pressing issue. And even though Orlando is 5-2 heading into Tuesday night’s game in Charlotte, Van Gundy wants a better focus put into stopping foes. He knows it is defense that will carry the Magic through tough road games and on poor shooting nights, ones like Sunday’s 102-74 loss to Oklahoma City.
Van Gundy wants a change in the Magic’s mindset, and admittedly he isn’t a patient man when it comes to his team casting a mellow attitude toward defense.
``We’re just not doing it; that’s not us. We’re a white collar team right now,’’ Van Gundy said, mocking his team’s defensive mindset. ``Those teams won’t win on the road and they won’t win in games they don’t shoot well. That’s us.
``I thought we would have had it by now,’’ he continued. ``We’ve seen our defensive numbers and we know how bad we’ve been defensively. It doesn’t seem to bother anybody in our locker room right now.’’
It certainly bothers Van Gundy, and he’s been quick to point out some of the Magic’s most troubling defensive numbers. He’s frustrated that the Magic are giving up too many open shots, fouling too often and allowing offensive struggles to affect defensive effort.
Here are some of the numbers that are most irritating to Van Gundy:
---- That Magic are in the middle of the pack in points allowed (99.5 per game), ranking 14th in the league.
---- Despite having the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in Dwight Howard and top wing defenders Mickael Pietrus and Matt Barnes, the Magic rank 24th in field goal percentage allowed (47.5 percent) and 23rd in 3-point field goal percentage allowed (40 percent).
---- Making matters worse defensively, the Magic haven’t been particularly opportunistic and have provided foes with easy opportunities. Orlando ranks 20th in blocks (4.57), 29th in steals (5.85) and 21st in fouls (21.85).
``We don’t make an effort. There’s no defensive mentality, no toughness,’’ Van Gundy fumed. ``All you have to do is look at the numbers – we’re one of the worst defensive teams in this league. Those teams will not win on the road, they won’t win games that they don’t shoot the ball well and that makes you mediocre at best, and that’s what we are.’’
Many would argue with Van Gundy on that assessment. One thing that would help the Magic most of all now would be improved health. And Orlando does hope to get Carter back tonight against the Bobcats in Charlotte. That should help the Magic be much more competitive offensively and return other players to more of their traditional roles.
For whatever reason, a Magic team with five new faces has meshed quicker offensively than defensively. At times, Orlando has scored so easily that their defensive slippage has been hidden under flurries of points.
Magic All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson said Orlando must adjust its mindset and turn more of its focus on stopping foes instead of simply trying to outscore them.
``We have to shift our attention from the offense to the defense,’’ Nelson said. ``We have to focus more and hustle on the defensive end. We can’t use struggling on offense as an excuse.’’
The Magic have had a knack of bouncing back in a big way after a loss/Van Gundy rant over the past two-plus seasons. The coach told his players the same thing that he said to the media on Sunday night, and he seemed to lay down a gauntlet of sorts for his Magic in tonight’s game in Charlotte.
``We need to find some toughness on our roster,’’ Van Gundy said.
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.
