Howard flips out at his teammates

[BballTim]

I bet it's either Turkoglu or J-Rich, both look disinterested out there.

I think that's probably right.  Ryan Anderson wasn't playing, Howard really respects Jameer Nelson, and J.J. Redick and BBD usually seem to hustle.

I know he respects him, but if anyone needs a calling out its Jameer Nelson. He played like an allstar when they went to the finals and he's been a shell of that player just a few years later.

Actually, when the Magic went to the Finals they had Rafer Alston running the point throughout most of the playoffs.

I always felt that Rafer kinda got shafted after he did so much for the Magic in their run to the Finals that season.

True but wasn't Nelson having an All star season? He either was an all-star or got shafted.

Right now Nelson doesn't even seem like an average pg

  Nelson's been in the league 7-8 years and he's had one really good half-season in that time. His shooting was much better than average for that one season, but that's about it.

[Celtics18]

Well, he scored 28 points on 64% shooting and his teammates managed 39 points on 32% shooting.  He grabbed 16 boards, his teammates grabbed 20.  He took 17 free throws and his teammates took 4. 

The frustration is understandable. 

Sure, his frustration is understandable, but his way of expressing it and handling it is obnoxious and lacking good leadership.

[Change]

The Tide has turned against Howard, and rightly so. He's an obnoxious loser. He is no leader

KG is a leader

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef-f7EeDpYI

[317]

you wont know if this was a bad move until after there next game. maybe this is what they need to kick it into gear.

[Celtics18]

you wont know if this was a bad move until after there next game. maybe this is what they need to kick it into gear.

I was down on him for this, but you're right.  If this works to motivate his team, then it'll turn out to be a good move. 

[Eja117]

I'm gonna go nuts here and suggest Howard was either talking about himself or Stan Van Gundy. SVG......nope

[jdz101]

The player he called out was probably the sketchy turkish landlord...played a horrible game against NO.

Stan van and the management should take more flak than anyone...they had a pretty darn good rebounding center and they surrounded him constantly with mediocre chuckers who just camp at the 3 pt line. You can't expect that to be championship calibre.

[pearljammer10]

I would suspect he called out Hedo, but after looking at the box score for their game last night it could have been anybody.

[European NBA fan]

you wont know if this was a bad move until after there next game. maybe this is what they need to kick it into gear.

I was down on him for this, but you're right.  If this works to motivate his team, then it'll turn out to be a good move. 

Even though Howard obviously gives his best effort, it is hard to follow a leader who is looking for the exit, while you are supposed to stay and fight. Of course the players have pride and want to win, but they also need to trust, that he is not gone by the deadline.

I think it is too late to make  everything right in Orlando, and I don't think it helps that Howard calls out any team mates. They need another leader within the team to step up.

[shaydon]

I would suspect he called out Hedo, but after looking at the box score for their game last night it could have been anybody.

i think you're right. dwight has shown a tendency to get on Hedo..always yelling at him after bad passes... during the comeback win the other night , the magic were down 6 or so with 2 minutes left, and hedo wasted two possessions just dribbling out near the 3 point line and chucked up bad shots. he is worse than 'no pass bass' and really hurts his team when he does that.

[shaydon]

the guy who really needs to be called out is SVG. he has a team full of weapons, the most dominant big man in the league, and they get embarrassed constantly. their playbook basically consists of dribble penetration to open up 3 point shots. if you stop the penetration (see bradley, avery) then you stop their offense. i think you could be much more productive with the talent they have on the team.

when the team unraveled and started getting techs in the 4th quarter, he did nothing to reel his guys in. between that, and dwights nightly press conferences about which team he'll go to or which one of his teammates is letting everyone down, it shows that he just has no control of his team.

[P2]

I hope BBD didn't cry

No, but he ate a box of donuts.

[LooseCannon]

  Nelson's been in the league 7-8 years and he's had one really good half-season in that time. His shooting was much better than average for that one season, but that's about it.

He's shot 40% or more on threes in four out of seven seasons, including twice in the top ten, but his shooting has just completely cratered this season.  Before last season, he was on a streak of four seasons (and five out of six) with WS/48 of .130 or better, so, it would be reasonable to claim that he's been a somewhat better than average shooter who had one half-season of all-NBA level play.  Career-wise, he's put up slightly better numbers percentage-wise than Mo Williams, if you want to compare him to someone.

[Celtics4ever]

Master of Panic has some problems on his hand.

[RJ87]

the guy who really needs to be called out is SVG. he has a team full of weapons, the most dominant big man in the league, and they get embarrassed constantly. their playbook basically consists of dribble penetration to open up 3 point shots. if you stop the penetration (see bradley, avery) then you stop their offense. i think you could be much more productive with the talent they have on the team.

when the team unraveled and started getting techs in the 4th quarter, he did nothing to reel his guys in. between that, and dwights nightly press conferences about which team he'll go to or which one of his teammates is letting everyone down, it shows that he just has no control of his team.

Agreed.

The whole "1 in, 4 out" offense should not be a team's main offensive strategy. When their 3's stop falling, they struggle mightily - it's really time for SVG to hire an "offensive coordinator" type of assistant coach who can get the most of their weapons ala Doc's assistant coaches who specialize in defense.

As far as D12's rant - this pretty sums up why he wants out in the first place. Orlando is not a serious threat for a title. They live and die by the 3, it's awfully tough to be consistent like that.