It won't be a magical homecoming at all

You think there’s a little extra juice to the Lakers game in Orlando tonight?

Yeah, first game back for Dwight Howard and while I haven’t seen examples of Magic fans being quite as venomous as, say, Raptors fans in some circumstances, I’ll be quite interested in seeing the reception Howard gets this evening.

Of all the player-engineered departures over the last decade or so, Howard’s was, to me, the most disgusting.

He prolonged it by waffling between wanting to go and wanting to stay; one day he’d say all the right things, the next there’d be a leak from “someone close to Howard” expressing a desire to bolt as soon as could.

He had an epiphany at the trade deadline a year ago, or so he said, and then had back surgery to end his season not too long after.

He was, for years, the happy-go-lucky face of the franchise, a smiley jokester who took the Magic to the NBA Finals but he has become so much less right now, it’s shocking.

He ripped Orlando as a team “full of people nobody wanted” in a TV interview last week (he did wisely backtrack on that) and thought his team was “overlooked” when he was there.

But thing I don’t imagine anyone can ever forgive him for?

He cost people their jobs.

Stan Van Gundy is an excellent coach and he got fired in large part because of the Dwightmare of last season (although that might have been a blessing in disguise); other front office people were let go as the saga unfolded.

No, Howard is the worst of worst in this era of entitled players who don’t think before they speak and who seem to carry one with nary a worry about the impact their actions will have on others.

There was a time when I thought Howard was pretty cool, he had fun playing the game, was a dominant physical force and the true face of a franchise. Heck, there’s no way they build that gorgeous arena in Orlando if not for him.

Now? Now he’s a poster child for what was wrong with the NBA and players wrangling their way out of city with no regard for what they’ve leaving behind.

I just wish the game was on TV so I could see the initial reaction because I know something about fan anger, wonder how it would stand up to what we’ve experienced here?

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Now, in this age of the tweeter, wouldn’t it be cool if the white smoke over in Italy started with a hashtag?

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Hmm.

Just after I write this, San Antonio crushes Oklahoma City and I start checking into direct flights from there to Miami in June.

And, of course, there are none.

But in the reverse jinx kind of world I live in, I have now practically guaranteed an Indiana-Clippers final.

You’re welcome.

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Now, I’m a day late to this one, sorry about that, but we’ve all seen the rather incredible DeAndre Jordan dunk over Detroit’s Brandon Knight the other night, right?

(It’s here if you haven’t)

Yes, it was quite something but, of course, in this day and age of instant analysis and comment, Knight was in for some ridicule and embarrassment after being leaped over in what might be the dunk of the year.

(Personally, I think the dunk of any year has to be done by one player, not as part of some lob, but that’s just me).

Anyway, I don’t quite get why anyone would want to mock Knight, actually. He tried to make a play and do his job, probably knowing full well the futility of trying to leap and block the shot.

I think the guy (who badly sprained an ankle last night to cap off what had to be the worst 24 hours of his career) should be lauded for what he did, not ridiculed.

But I guess that’s just me.

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So, you want to know why the HOTH were off yesterday?

They needed a day, by contract.

Not sure if I’ve ever mentioned this before but the new CBA dictates that players get 16 full days off each season and, trust me, it’s hard to schedule them.

You’d think that Saturday – after they had flown back from the west coast – would have been a “day off” since there was no practice but, no. Because they landed back here after midnight it was considered a work day.

Same thing if, for instance, they play a Tuesday-Wednesday road back-to-back and don’t play again until the Sunday: The Thursday couldn’t be a “day off” because they land after 12 and no matter that they wouldn’t practice on that day anyway, it doesn’t count towards the 16.

And if they don’t get them? Well, let’s say the league’s fine coffers are enhanced; I heard one story about a coach getting fined $25,000 for having too many full contact practices in training camp when a player rep kind of ratted him out.

Anyway, there’s some stuff you might not have known.

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Hang on a sec!

Netherlands beat Cuba to advance to the next round of the World Baseball Classic?

Cool.

Bert Blyleven must have really had the old yakker going.

Not having a real rooting interest in the tournament any more now that Canada’s on the sidelines, I’m all about Netherlands now.

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Comments

[LeeZ]

Agree with you about Knight. Others would have fled the scene for fear of being posterized. Knight, all, what, 6 feet of him?, had the cajones to try and stop it. Don't share your qualms about the lob aspect. That was as good a dunk as you'll ever see, all the more so since the dude is lefthanded and threw it down with his right. The fact he was so far away reminded me of Keon Clark. Speaking of oldsters, love the Blyleven reference. You younguns want to see a real curveball? Check out Bert's. The best in history.

[Matt M]

Speaking of Howard and it bears repeating, who would have guessed that the Magic would have won the short term implications of that deal (although Denver came out ok)? Guess that's another reason as to why they play the games.

[Lorie]

And how cool is this? If the Netherlands team wins, Bert's promised to get a tattoo of the Dutch flag. Talk about extra incentive! Bet his players would get a kick out of watching that happen...if only for the inevitable Blyleven deleted expletives. D'ya think he can do 'em in Dutch, too? :)

[sam]

Totally agree with your take on Howard. I find players like him frustrating. All the talent in the world, but little substance and maturity behind them. It makes you appreciate guys like Tim Duncan all the more.

At the WBC_When you think of the Netherlands, baseball is the last thing I think of....
I spent a couple of weeks in the Netherlands a few years back and don't recall seeing a ball diamond, but did see a lot of soccer fields....
The Dominican Republic is hte team to beat.....

[The Dutch!]

Goedemorgen Meneer Smith

Thanks for your support... we think.

[Geoff Read]

Agreed on Howard and Knight. Howard is the poster-child for selfishness... and that's saying something in the era where Lebron James is the NBA's best player. The fact Howard seems to be somewhat washed up reads a bit like poetic justice in this corner. And Knight? Why would people rag on him? What: they could have done better? The dude is small by NBA standards and as LeeZ says, he had the cojones to give it the old college try stopping a man much larger than he in full flight.

I also liked the Blyleven reference. I wonder if anyone in Holland has noticed their team's success at the WBC?

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Brandon Knight was right up there, with a hand in Jordan's face – textbook defence, valiant textbook defence considering the size differential. If it had been a jump shot, they'd be singing Knight's praises for being that game. It's not like DeAndre hurdled a 7-footer... but it was one hell of a play all around.
Cheers. Go Jays!

[Rob.V]

D12 had all the makings of great career however with entitlement issues and injuries that is fading, fast.

As I was watching the Raps/Laker game all I could think of is that Howard may never even reach the level of say a Dennis Rodman at this point... let alone one of the true great centers all time.

His career path is projecting that of a Ben Wallace type of player rather than a Shaq, Dream etc...

[Eric-in-NS]

Blyleven's curve better than Camilo Pascual's? I suppose there are players still around who faced them both.

[Topper]

The game is on TV. The Score.

[Paul B]

Knight out is a great opportunity for Jose to solidify his next contract with regular minutes. Happy for Jose under the circumstances.

[marc in panama]

Hola Doug,

Could Stan get any more out of this team than Dwane has this year?

Would Stan be the only guy you'd call in you were inclined to relieve Dwane after the year is over? (I know, I know, down the road and not a big fan of speculation, but I thought I'd try...)

Ciao amigo,

marc in panama

[Gerry Tanner]

I am with you on Brandon Knight. I think there are a large number of players in the league who could make that dunk, but darn few of the smaller guards who would try to block it. Most of them would have just backed out and watched it. Was also wondering in any of the irregulars had watched Gonzaga this year and do they think Olynyk?? could be drafted (if he is in the draft).

[Steve]

I think it's a tad early to write off Howard's career entirely, drama-llama or otherwise. For perspective the guy is having a "down" year yet still averaging a double double (easily) and leading the league in rebounds per game.

I'm not saying that he is going to be one of the all time greatest centres, but then I wouldn't have said that before the shenanigans last year either (it's not like his offensive game suddenly became one-dimensional this year - that's just the narrative because people stopped falling for the goofball act).

[Angelo]

If memory serves Jorge Garbajosa effectively ended his NBA carreer trying to block a dunk like that, Brandon Knight although brave should have done nothing to prevent this 1.

[LeeZ]

@PaulV: José is already getting starter's minutes. They're playing Knight at the 2 a lot so that they both can get good minutes. Knight has played along so far, but I can't imagine he (or more importantly, his agent) would be too happy if that situation continued next year. Doug, you know José well enough to hazard a guess: if Detroit and Toronto offered more or less the same amount of cash, but Detroit promised starter's minutes while the Raps did not (and assuming, just for the hell of it, that these were the only two offers on the table), which do you think he'd go for?

Blogger's note: Total guess he comes back; don't imagine scenario plays out because there will be other teams in the mix

[Mike D.]

Agreed on Brandon Knight - there might be five guys in the league that could absorb enough of the impact of a 270-pound guy, who's three feet off the ground and moving forward, to stop that dunk. All of them are centres, and it's 50/50 whether any of them could get off the ground quickly enough to do it. He deserves a ton of praise for going up after it.

[Tabber]

As Topper said, the Score has the Lakers' game. They have had a lot of Lakers' games this season.

[james]

LeeZ: "Speaking of oldsters, love the Blyleven reference. You younguns want to see a real curveball? Check out Bert's. The best in history."
Bluenoser Eric: "Blyleven's curve better than Camilo Pascual's? I suppose there are players still around who faced them both."

Geez, you guys are old. Sandy K.'s was the best for my money.

[LeeZ]

@James: WE'RE old??? I, for one, never saw Mr. Koulfax pitch, so I'm a veritable spring chicken compared to you! @GerryTanner, as for Olynyk, he's been doing it both inside and outside and has an insane fg%. He will definitely be a 1st round pick, quite possibly a lottery pick, in fact. He'll need to bulk up quite a bit at the next level, though. Here's a trivia question based on Olynyk's Canuk teammate, Kevin Pangos. He's playing so well that Gonzaga alumnus John Stockton's son has been forced to ride the pine. This is poetic justice, since something occurred with John Stockton back when he began his pro career that had a negative impact on a Canadian. Name that something! Doug, no fair answering this, since you know the person in question.

Blogger's note: I most certainly do and ran into the great Frank Layden the other night in Phoenix at the game

[Andrew Gregg]

Hi Doug:

Saw this on-line today:

http://blogs.thescore.com/raptorblog/2013/03/12/will-the-raptors-pursue-carl-landry/

If this happens the roster will have:

Carl Landry
Landry Fields
Kyle Lowry

...and I will officially be confused in a who's-on'first kind of way for the entire season.

AG, Toronto

Blogger's note: My head hurts already

[james]

"...I'm a veritable spring chicken compared to you!" Too true, I'm an elderly bird. Some might argue for Christy Mathewson or Three-Finger Brown. I would have no idea.

Kelly Olynyk impressed whenever I saw him on the national team. Surprisingly, I don't think Gonzaga has played one televised game this year, at least on the Canadian left coast; last year there were a bunch.

[doug]

you know one of Phil Jacksons strengths as a coach was controlling the message, this year one of the Lakers problems has been all of them talking too much to the press they need to reel it in...be interesting to see how Howard would have played for Phil as no matter who is on his team, Phil does it his way and speaks for the teama s it should be....I am with Doug to me that dunk was fine, but it didn't do a lot for me, as lob dunks to me are far below a player creating, driving and posterizing someone...there way more impressive..and now this is a dunk..

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/688201-nba-power-rankings-the-50-biggest-posterizing-dunks-of-all-time-video/page/50

[larry lukeeborg]

re lee z's poetic justice: i believe that the jazz were undecided whether to make john stockon or jay triano last cut.

[LeeZ]

@doug the poster: I can't access video clips at work, but if that piece you posted on the 50 best dunks of all time doesn't have John Starks' famous dunk over MJ and, if memory serves, Horace Grant, with Bill Cartwright getting out of the way, if they don't have that dunk in, say, the top 20, then I'm calling the police.