2003-04 has literally nothing to do with Van Gundy's teams consistently leading the league in 3pt attempts/game during his Orlando stint. Just very odd. It's like you see a post by me, and your brain automatically makes you start posting about Nate. I'll remind you again that I posted after Nate's firing that it was time for him to go, but I don't think it will matter.
Maybe it's because you often redirect threads by out of the blue, bitterly bringing up a McMillan comparison to the non-McMillan subject of discussion.
Maybe, maybe not. But it does prove that Van Gundy matches his system to his personnel and doesn't try to force the players into an ill-fitting system. Given a roster full of guys like Rashard Lewis/Ryan Anderson, Hedo Turkoglu, JJ Reddick, Jameer Nelson, etc., what's he supposed to do? He lead his team to the NBA finlas with Dwight Howard and a bunch of role players - mostly soft 3-point shooters. He made the most of what he was given, and that's all you can expect from any coach. It's nothing personal. I'm just comparing and contrasting two coaches, one you like and one you don't, and trying to understand the differences. Coach A's teams used to lead the league in 3FGA and he only made it out of the first round once in 11 years, has a regular season winning percentage barely above .500 (below .500 in his most recent job) and a losing record in the post season. Coach B's teams have made it past the first round in 5 of his 6 years as a head coach, has a .644 regular season wining percentage and a .573 winning percentage in the playoffs. Yet, coach A is considered, by you, a great coach and coah B is a "flaming shitbag". Just trying to understand the "logic" and "reasoning" that would lead to such an unobvious conclusion. BNM
Interesting discussion by guys who cover the NBA for a living. It's interesting that the comments on Van Gundy's behavior range from neutral to positive, but the opinions on Dwight Howard's behavior are universally negative. A few select comments: Steve Aschburner: "Howard, on the other hand, has been wrong, big, throughout his mess. He doesn’t seem to know what he wants and is coming across as a complete phony." Fran Blinebury: "Nothing about Dwight Howard has changed since the trade deadline fiasco. He is 26 years old going on 16" John Schuhmann: "Dwight Howard is clearly in the wrong. Beyond his obvious immaturity is the fact he doesn’t realize that Van Gundy is one of the best coaches in the league and a huge part of the Magic’s success over the last few years. They’re the only team that’s been in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency each of the last four seasons, and you don’t do that without a great coach. And I’m fine with what Van Gundy did Thursday morning. When he’s asked a question regarding him and Dwight, he shouldn’t have to pretend that everything’s peachy." Scott Howard-Cooper: "Good luck finding anybody who thinks Stan Van Gundy was wrong. More likely, he is being celebrated, especially by peers who have always wanted to do the same thing: Not cover for a star player. The unusual amount of straight talk even by SVG standards probably made him a hero. (And it won’t get him fired, either. That would have happened anyway.)" BNM
