Orlando Magic News for March 4th: Shaq Lashes Out At SVG, Courtney Lee Gets Dap, and More

Go away, Shaq. Nobody likes you.

sounds like shaq’s feelings are hurt!!!

He behaves like a tool again, and reminds you why you stopped liking him in the first place. Shaq is just addicted to having people talking about him and creating controversy. It’s kind of sad actually.

I love how he can dish it out with impunity but becomes downright pouty and reactive when somebody bothers responding back.

http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PaulCoro/47655

Shaq is a hypocrite. And I don’t know what this new rule is that he’s talking about…according to this “new rule,” the player is supposed to fall, apparently. He sounds like a bitter old man here. And knowing SVG, he’s probably not even focused on this and is already looking ahead to NJ on Friday.

Simply pathetic and he should be ashamed of himself. Van Gundy is the best coach we’ve ever had no matter how far coach Hill got back in the day. Shaq is simply a back stabbing and pompous individual. He will NEVER have my respect after he disrespected our best player and the man who is a big part of how good Dwight is today. I am disgusted in him right now.

SVG is a greeat guy with a real personality. While he was “MIA” after leaving his position with Maimi he became the spokesman for my alma mater’s basketball program. He spent a lot of time around campus, so almost everyone met him in some sort of fashion. He was the kind of guy that would hang out and talk to everyone, not just about basketball but about life in general.

Stan is not a nobody, if anything he is big enough to be real with “nobodies.” Shaq is a joke, there is a reason that the media tears him apart every time he leaves a team. He burns bridges everywhere. Maybe the mst sensitive, insecure athlete in sports today.

……..start with passion, and end with having that strange concept in his head that teams (and players) WANT to get better. Thats gotta be hard on Shaq who has basicly relyed on physical skills most of his career and for sure the last 5 years of his career.

I have written (and still think) that at some point SVG will outgrow his usefulness as this team matures. Stan is best suited as a builder and molder of young talent/teams, It will be interesting to see if he can change his approch as the team gets older.

As for Shaq….he is now a bitter old man yelling at kids to get off his lawn. Sad

….Gortat might be difficult to keep next year. The guy is best kept secret in the NBA, soft hands, rebounds, can finish around the basket. I think Stan knows what he has here but given that Dwight gets the big minutes, teams like to go small when he out of the game and total lack of decent back up big men in the league often the better matchup is Battie.

I would like to Gortat get more opprotunites as well, perhaps when the seedings are settled Stan might think about trying him in all situations. With Battie expiring after next year he might be able to moved for cap space but only if Gortat is coming back.

I think, by addressing Shaq, SVG did something I don’t think the Orlando players or even Dwight Howard specifically will never forget.

Stan stood up for Dwight, and I think that’s an important aspect to take away from this “war of words.” I think Van Gundy earned a great deal of respect from his team for what he did.

……and state publicly that his team will NOT flop. As a watcher of much NBA I can say that if the Magic are not the leagues top non flopping team they have to be top five (Spurs are the worst). And this flopping is really annoying, almost outta control. Take a stand Stan…I think it will serve two purposes…

1) If the Magic publicly state that they are not a team of floppers (frame it like you did in the press conference, we are men) it has to send a message to the officals. Perhaps it cuts down on the “cheap” fouls Dwight seems to attract.

2) By extension it places the rest of the league on notice “we don’t flop, shame if you need to employ that tactic against us”. It would put a spotlight on the situation leaguewide.

Now, in reality its just a mind game, but one that just might work given the current media focus.

The flopping now-a-days is a total joke and horrible for the game of basketball. The sad truth is, flopping is now just another form of defense.

At this point, I think the players are the last ones to blame. Not to say that I don’t hate flopping, because I do. I actually hate pretty much every player who does it regularly. And I will continue to question the “testicular fortitude” of any player who claims to have a pair, yet takes dives to cheat the game.

Then again, can you blame them? The NBA, David Stern, down to the officials, are the ones who are doing nothing about it. Rather, they’re almost endorsing it, as they continue to make calls for guys taking “super dives” onto the floor. It works for the players, teams; because it’s an advantage. Like I said, it really is a form of defense. And it will continue to be until something changes.

The NBA acted as if they were going to do something about flopping last post season when flops were costing teams games. Some obviously had an impact on the series (Houston/Utah comes to mind). However once the playoffs were over the talks went away.

The ONLY WAY flopping is going to be slowed down is if they start fining players; and I think they absolutely should. There are a few ways they could work the fines, but at least it would make players think about it, rather than just taking dives.

I think the fact that the NBA continues to do nothing about this issue is embarrassing.

As for Shaq, he still sounds like the same kid he was back in 92. I mean really, I almost thought he had started to change. You know, go out with some class… But in reality, it was just because he had been playing so poorly, and now that he’s having a respectable season, I guess he feels comfortable being a jackass again.

How it related to Dwight, I think it was simple. Shaq was almost right when he said he did that back in 92. Well, yeah, you got yourself some Superman tattoos, and proclaimed yourself Superman. And while having many nicknames, Superman was never as consistent as he hoped. Then Dwight came along, and being the playful kid that he is, puts on a cape in the slam dunk contest, steals the show, and has been known as Superman worldwide ever sense.

Jealous Shaq?

I mean, does Shaq think Dwight went into the dunk contest two years ago saying, "hey, I’m gonna put this cape on and steal Shaq’s nickname"? Every other player around the league, including Dwight had fun with it. That’s what it was, good fun. It didn’t have anything to do with Shaq. Yet, Shaq’s HUGE, yet very fragile ego was bruised. And that should come as no surprise… Not the first time, won’t be the last…

Imagine this: It’s only a matter of time before Dwight gets called the Magic’s all time best center. You better believe that’s going to drive Shaq insane. Ha-ha.

Then there is Van Gundy, who really didn’t say anything wrong. If anything, I agree with what some said above, in how he was just standing up for his player. Flopping is bad as it is, yet alone having a 350+ pound guy do it. That’s just retarded. It should have ended there, but Shaq went and made it completely personal, as he’s done for his entire career. In the end, Shaq’s the one who looks like an idiot. Although it’ll be chalked up as "Shaq being Shaq"…

It’s a shame because he’s having a solid season. It’d be nice if he could end his career with some class, but it looks as if his big/fragile ego will prevent him for doing so.

With the recent shots and both Dwight and Stan, does anyone still want to see Shaq’s number retired anytime soon?

Lastly, did I hear Shaq right? Did I hear him say he was going to finish the season in the top 5 in scoring (34th now) and have 5 rings (9th seed) before he retires? Does that mean he’s going to go sign with a legit contender after "setting the Suns"?

In all seriousness, Shaq really needs to just shut up and play; because with all of his "greatness", they’re still in the 9th spot, and things don’t look promising. I’m sure that’s got to sting a little… I mean really, the Suns were always atop of the West, before Shaq came along…

how does this make svg a frontrunner? does shaq even know what it means?