Orlando Magic News for December 22nd: Stan Van Gundy Praises Dwight Howard's Defense; More on J.J. Redick

Orlando Magic notes: Stan Van Gundy calls Dwight Howard "anybody I've been around" defensively
Dwight Howard receives praise from his coach, particularly about his defense.

Stan Van Gundy has coached some excellent interior defenders, including P.J. Brown and Alonzo Mourning.

But Van Gundy says Dwight Howard, the NBA's reigning defensive player of the year, is on a different level.

"He's a better pick-and-roll defender, probably, than Alonzo was and a better shot-blocker than P.J. was," Van Gundy said. "There's just not much he can't do defensively. I think as a big guy he's as good as anybody I've been around."

The Orlando Magic, nine other teams will debut new shooting shirts on Christmas
Josh Robbins shares apparel news concerning the Orlando Magic.

If you attend or turn in to the Orlando Magic-Boston Celtics game on Christmas Day, don’t be surprised if you see the Magic dressed just a bit different during warm-ups.

The Magic, the Celtics and the eight other teams playing on Christmas will debut new adidas shooting shirts.

Carter Slides as Redick Rises in Orlando
Tim Povtak of NBA FanHouse talks about J.J. Redick's emergence.

Van Gundy has rewarded Redick's improved play with more playing time recently. He has responded by scoring in double figures in five of his last seven games. His defense is better, too. His assists are up, and his understanding of the game is as good as anyone else on the team.

"He's playing with great confidence, and with good reason. Success breeds confidence,'' Van Gundy said. "He's so focused, so on top of everything. He's got great confidence in himself now, and we've got confidence in him.''

Hanging with my man C-Booz
Dwight Howard posts on his official blog today and states how he and Carlos Boozer were able to hang out while the Utah Jazz were in town.

When Booz came to the house on Sunday, we hung out and watched a lot of the NFL games on TV. Of course, everybody was asking me if we talked about playing together since he’s going to be a free agent this summer. Of course, that would be a dream come true for both of us, but we’ll have to see what happens. Booz will have to make a decision on his own and do what’s best for him and his family. That has to come first in any decision.