Mike Bianchi, SPORTS COMMENTARY
8:12 p.m. EST, May 5, 2012
There was no fanfare.
No standing ovation.
No curtain call.
No farewell speech.
There wasn't even a goodbye wave.
Just a disheartened coach walking somberly and silently off the floor at the Amway Center.
Maybe for the last time.
If this was his last home game as the coach of the Magic, do not remember Stan Van Gundy for the devastating 101-99 overtime loss to the Indiana Pacers. Remember him for all the wins and grins he has provided you over the years. Remember him for who he is:
The best coach the Orlando Magic have ever had.
Sadly, in front of a sellout crowd he helped cultivate, in an arena he helped inaugurate, for a franchise he helped resuscitate, this was likely the last time Orlando fans will see Stan The Man as their coach. After losing a second consecutive home game, the Magic now trail this series 3-1 heading back up to Indiana. You can forget about the Magic's traditional "Blue and White Ignite" marketing slogan. This thing is over. The Magic's chances of winning this series are all but dead. The only thing missing is the toe tag.
Blue and White, good night.
New Orlandoan Bubba Watson attended the game, but unfortunately for the Magic, he didn't bring any Masters miracle with him. And now that the Magic are in 3-1 hole, they are in a worse predicament than Bubba found himself in on the final hole of the Masters when he hit his stunning shot from out of the trees and onto the green. The Magic's problem is this: They are playing among trees, too. Except the Pacers' trees actually jump and run and block shots.
Heading into Game 4, Van Gundy and his players lamented the Magic's lack of "energy" during this playoff series, but actually there is a much bigger issue: A lack of talent. Sadly, even with Dwight Howard, I don't know if the Magic could beat the Pacers. We saw as much last year when they were ousted in the first round by the Hawks.
Give the Magic credit for at least putting up a fight Saturday. They were down 19 with just more than 8 minutes left, but battled back to take it to overtime. Jameer Nelson missed a potential game-winning shot at the end of regulation and Glen Davis missed a potential game-tying shot at the end of overtime.
"I'm the one who draws up the plays," Van Gundy said afterward. "If it doesn't work, it's on me."
Typical Van Gundy. Always falling on the sword and covering for his players. Well, except for the one glaring time he didn't a few weeks ago. Which is why he likely will not be back as the Magic's coach. When he pulled the curtain back and revealed that Dwight went to management to try to get him fired, he all but sealed his fate as the Magic's coach.
The Magic, as they should, have made it clear they are going to do everything they can to keep Dwight. And that means they will likely jettison one of the best coaches in the NBA.
Sorry, but I'm not exactly buying the recent TMZ video where Dwight made it out like he and Stan were suddenly buddy-buddy again. Howard said in the video that he had spoken with Van Gundy "a bunch of times" since the playoffs started.
That might have been a slight exaggeration on Dwight's part. When I asked Stan if he and Dwight had spoken a "bunch of times" Saturday, he replied, "I don't know about a bunch … but we've communicated before the playoffs started and after Game 2 we texted back and forth."
Texting, talking â€" does it really matter? Everybody knows there have been too many hurt feelings for Dwight and Stan to ever again co-exist. And even if you side with Stan, it doesn't matter. The Magic, if they want to remain viable as a franchise, must take Dwight's side.
Magic motto: Dwight is right.
Even when he's wrong.
And that means Stan has likely coached his final game in the Amway Center.
That would be sad.
The best coach in Magic history deserved a much better sendoff.
mbianchi@tribune.com. Follow him on Twitter @BianchiWrites. Listen to his radio show every weekday from 6 to 9 a.m. on 740 AM.
Copyright © 2012, Orlando Sentinel
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