Master Of Panic?; 17 Days Left

There’s been a lot said lately about Magic coach Stan Van Gundy buckling under pressure. This is what Shaq said on his former coach in Miami: “I know for a fact he’s a master of panic and when it gets time for his team to go into the postseason and do certain things, he will let them down because of his panic. I’ve been there before. I’ve played for him.” Combine that with the comments of current Magic center Marcin Gortat to a Polish newspaper: “The nature of our coach, he panics very often during games. He’s got some behavior which is not good for us. With his gestures he makes us nervous on the floor.” And Van Gundy sounds like a guy who can't seem to find ways to face pressure. How could it get any worse? how about your best player now calling you out.

Magic all-star center Dwight "Superman" Howard called out the coaching following Orlando’s loss to Boston in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. Upset he only got 10 shots in the game and only two in the fourth quarter, Howard had this to say: “I don’t think you are going to win a lot of games when your post player only gets 10 shots. It’s tough to get yourself going and get a lot of shots without a lot of touches. We have to do a better job with that. The coaches have to recognize what’s working on the floor. Stick to it. Even if it’s half your starters on the floor. Not just the guys you have put the most trust in. You have to have trust in everybody,” Howard said, “We moved the ball, we ran, got easy shots, and our coach has to recognize when he was a certain group out there and they are getting the job done and we have to leave those guys on the floor. We are going to make mistakes, but I think you have to go with what works."

Van Gundy obviously listened as the Magic defeated the Celtics 83-75 on Thursday night to force a seventh game in their semifinal series. Dwight Howard starred with 23 points and 22 rebounds. Boston, historically, is 32-0 when up in a series 3-2 and although this series is tied 3-3 now that still applies. So it's time for Van Gundy to show that he can deal with the pressure and put all this negativity to rest. If not, Van Gundy will forever be known as the master of panic but it's not going to be easy the Celtics have experience in game 7's and Doc Rivers is definitely not a coach who folds under pressure. Although it's the player's playing let's see if Van Gundy has enough trust in his players to let them play through mistakes because if not, the players won't trust Van Gundy and if the Magic lose he may also not have a job.

Peace and Much Love To Ya :)