Stan Van Gundy Takes Tokyo!

↵Magic star Dwight Howard is on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Writer Chris Ballard painted the young beast as a playful dude (spot on analysis), but made the mistake of suggesting said personable nature might make Howard too soft. (In fairness to Ballard, he personally hedges and finds plenty of back-up -- including Kobe Bryant -- to support the otherwise silly premise.)
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↵Regardless, Stan Van Gundy brings the fire in an interview published by the Orlando Sentinel’s Brian Schmitz.↵↵⇥“Some of the the other things...well, he’s not as intense as -- I think some of the names were ... Kevin Garnett ... The point was made that Dwight has only got us out of the first round one time in four years. I wanted to ask the guy, ‘How many times did Kevin Garnett get his team out of the first round in his early years?’ It took eight years. Eight years of not getting out of the first round.
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↵⇥“But what, because Kevin Garnett yells and scowls and screams, he cares and Dwight doesn’t? It doesn’t add up. ... So what it’s coming down to is not production on the court when a guy writes that; it’s the look on somebody’s face. So I guess that makes Ben Wallace better than Dwight. ...I find it ridiculous.”↵↵Van Gundy has both a point and good evidence. I just hope his explosion nips this ridiculous theory in the bud, lest Howard becomes the next Peyton Manning, Phil Mickelson or ... well, Kevin Garnett.↵