The Orlando Magic have been on a steady decline since losing Dwight Howard to a herniated disk. Orlando is 3-7 without its franchise player and has given up 100.1 points as opposed to 93.4 points with him in the lineup. The Magic must win at least one of their remaining two games to avoid the possibility of dropping to the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. If New York wins its remaining two games and Orlando can’t come up with a
We’re gonna go out on a limb and say the artist formerly known as Ron Artest won’t be repeating as winner of the Citizenship Award. But what of the NBA’s other season-ending awards? Our winners are below, replete with the customary snotty remarks. EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR: Indiana’s Larry Bird turned the Pacers into a borderline elite team, with offseason additions David West and George Hill and in-season addition Leandro Barbosa, adding needed playoff experience. He also preserved his cap room for this
It took awhile, but the Nuggets finally clinched the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season. But just because they are in, that doesn’t mean George Karl is about to rest his players. Quite the contrary actually; Following the win, Karl said “We have three games left, and we are going to try to win all three of them. There won’t be any rest going on here.” It only makes sense. The Nuggets still have a chance to catch the Mavericks (who lost
NEWS Kevin Love says he’s feeling better after his concussion but is still unsure about playing in Minnesota’s next game. The Orlando Sentinel is reporting Magic center Dwight Howard underwent successful arthroscopic surgery Friday on a herniated disk in his lower back. The NBA union’s executive committee has requested the resignation of President Derek Fisher. NOTES The Memphis Grizzlies have signed free agent guard Lester Hudson. The Cavaliers have shut down center Anderson Varejao for the remainder of the season with a broken right wrist. Golden State
We may have seen Dwight Howard in an Orlando Magic uniform for the final time. Howard needs to undergo back surgery for a herniated disk, it was announced early today, and will miss the remainder of the NBA season. “It hurts (emotionally),” Howard told ESPN’s Chris Broussard. “That’s the first thing — it hurts. And then with people saying and thinking I’m quitting on my team. This is a real issue. I tried to play through it and it just made my
NEWS Minnesota forward Kevin Love was not with the team for Monday’s game against the Indiana Pacers because of a concussion and a neck strain. The Washington Wizards have signed guard Morris Almond and waived Roger Mason Jr., who is out for the season after surgery on his broken left index finger. Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy says he’s preparing to play the rest of the regular season and playoffs without injured star Dwight Howard. NOTES The Golden State Warriors have signed free agent
This had been a perfect season for Stan Van Gundy. Well, check that. In a lot of ways, it has been a nightmare season for the head coach of the Orlando Magic, who has been feuding with his trade-me, don’t-trade-me franchise center, living and dying by the 3-pointer and enduring a soap opera of a year that just keeps coming up with new twists and turns. But through it all, Van Gundy had maintained enough cool to not be called for a single
