Orlando Magic News for November 13th: Disappointing Defense; Stan Van Gundy Chimes in on LeBron James' Request

Hollinger: NBA's biggest disappointments
John Hollinger of ESPN Insider cites the biggest disappointments in the NBA so far, including the Orlando Magic's defense.

But Orlando? This wasn't supposed to happen. The Magic led the league in defensive efficiency last season and returned defensive player of the year Dwight Howard. However, the Magic have struggled to get stops and find themselves a mere 17th in the defensive tables this season.

Both teams have made personnel changes and are getting acclimated to their roster additions, but that excuse goes only so far.

Stan Van Gundy on Retiring No. 23: '(Jordan) Is Not Jackie Robinson'
Tim Povtak of NBA FanHouse states how Stan Van Gundy responded to the news when learning that LeBron James would like to lead the charge in retiring #23 from the league if he were to change his number.

Magic coach Stan Van Gundy was asked Friday morning about James' request, and he didn't hesitate to say he thinks the idea is misplaced.

"It's a nice gesture, but he (Jordan) is not Jackie Robinson. Baseball did it because it had historical significance,'' Van Gundy said. "There actually were guys before Michael who could play the game. Then you should retire numbers that (Bill) Russell, Wilt (Chamberlain), and certainly Oscar (Robertson) wore. I understand LeBron didn't grow up watching those guys, but still. ''

MVP Race: Early Impressions
John Krolik of SLAM ONLINE provides his early impressions of the MVP race, so far, in the Association and places Dwight Howard fourth among his peers but cautions what could drop him in the rankings moving forward.

Defensively, Dwight hasn’t been himself this season-his blocks have been cut in half from last season, and much more importantly the Magic, the League’s best defensive team last season, are only 17th in defensive efficiency thus far. Dwight gets a lot of credit for leading a very thin team to a good start, but if the Magic don’t turn things around defensively, his ranking here could plummet with his team.