The Magic are Getting Hyped and Stan Van Gundy is Whining

Posted by Zach Lowe on Nov 19, 2009 43265 commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F2009%2F11%2F19%2Fthe-magic-are-getting-hyped-and-stan-van-gundy-is-whining%2FThe+Magic+are+Getting+Hyped+and+Stan+Van+Gundy+is+Whining2009-11-20+04%3A23%3A20Zach+Lowehttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F%3Fp%3D4326

Can you have a “statement game” before Thanksgiving? Rashard Lewis thinks so, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel:

“It’s a big game for us,” Lewis said. “We’re playing against one of the best teams in the NBA. I think it’s a statement game, just like the Cleveland Cavaliers game was a statement game. They came in and beat us. It’s going to be tough going into Boston, but at the same time, I think we’re going to see where we’re at.”

Meanwhile, Stan Van Gundy is doing what he does best (other than being a great coach, and I mean that): whining about a perceived lack of respect that exists only in his head (and possibly in his mustache). Here’s Stan, still somehow bitter about a playoff series the Magic won: 

To Boston fans, last year’s playoff series deserved an asterisk because the Celtics played without Kevin Garnett.

“We didn’t have Jameer either,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy noted. “People just leave that out. You would think by reading the accounts of that series last year that it was the Celtics without Kevin Garnett and the full-strength Orlando Magic.”

Please stop it. Jameer Nelson is a nice player—a deserving All-Star pick last year for sure—but let’s not create some false equivalency between Nelson and KG. One of the early story lines of this season has been, “Hey, what’s up with Jameer Nelson getting torched by opposing point guards every game? Is this a problem?” Put it this way: Nobody ever watched KG play and asked, “Is his performance on one end of the floor hurting his team?”

I rested my case against Stan and his overblown and ridiculous inferiority complex before the season, and nothing has changed. We all respect the Magic. We all believe they are a real threat to the title. They scare the crap out of me. We’re all aware Jameer Nelson was out with an injury during last year’s playoffs. So please, for the sake of my temper and your legacy, stop the silly whining. You’re better than that.