There is a pandemic spreading across the NBA landscape and it’s not the swine flu. There have been a rash of NBA coaches being heavily fined for critical comments toward the replacement referees.

The Orlando Magic and head coach Stan Van Gundy were recently fined $35,000 each for Van Gundy’s verbal jabs at the officials after a preseason game against the New York Knicks.

Other coaches who got a big slap on the hand from NBA Executive Vice President Stu Jackson were Memphis coach Lionel Hollins and Charlotte coach Larry Brown.

Hollins has been fined $25,000 for publicly criticizing game officials following the Grizzlies loss to the Orlando Magic on October 12 at FedEx Forum.

Brown has been fined $35,000 for verbally abusing game officials and failing to leave the court in a timely manner following his ejection with 3:23 remaining in the third quarter of Charlotte’s game against Atlanta on Oct. 12 at Philips Arena. Brown has been fined an additional $25,000 for publicly criticizing the referees following the game.

The Charlotte Bobcats have also been fined $60,000 for Brown’s actions.

Can I get a big pacifier for these three head coaches. I mean, it’s preseason guys and you’re all crying about the officiating. If anything, the replacement refs are actually doing a decent job in the games I’ve seen. They’re calling violations on EVERYONE and that includes the superstars.

Message to Van Gundy, Hollins and Brown: Quit whining and just coach.

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Jameer Nelson's decision to play in The Finals has hurt the Magic rather than help them.

A 3-1 deficit in The NBA Finals. It is staring the Orlando Magic in the face as it tries to figure out what went wrong in Game 4, a game that saw the Magic blow a 12-point halftime lead, turn the ball over 19 times and miss 15 free throws.

But the biggest reason why Orlando is on the brink of elimination is because of the presence of Jameer Nelson. In hindsight, the decision to activate him for the NBA Finals was probably the wrong one. Instead of providing a shot in the arm for the Magic, Nelson has become a detriment to team chemistry and his blown defensive assignment at the end of regulation will go down as one of the all-time blunders.

Nelson, the All-Star guard who has played in four games since injuring his right shoulder in February, inexplicably allowed Derek Fisher too much space to shoot a 3-pointer that tied the game at 87 with 4.6 seconds left and forced overtime, where Fisher hit another three to seal a 99-91 Lakers victory.

Mr. Nelson, meet Mr. Buckner.

“Obviously, we didn’t want to give up a three. I think I let Fisher get into rhythm and he shot a good shot. I could have pushed up a little more,” Nelson said of Fisher’s first 3-pointer of the game after missing his previous five attempts. Fisher’s second 3-pointer came in overtime, which also involved Nelson.

“I got elbowed,” Nelson said. “I went to go double Kobe and got elbowed. The explanation I got was the man had the ball so [the referee] can’t call the elbow,” Nelson said on the play where Bryant’s right elbow knocked him to the floor and allowed Fisher an open look at the top of the 3-point arc that made it 94-91 with 30 seconds left in OT.

Mickael Pietrus, one of the few Magic players who actually delivered in the clutch in Game 4 and did an admirable job of slowing down Kobe Bryant, says the game began slipping away in the third quarter when the Lakers erased a 12-point halftime deficit by outscoring Orlando, 30-14, in the third.

“I think we didn’t play well at the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth quarter. We started panicking a little bit and lost a lot on turnovers,” Pietrus said.

Did Pietrus just say the Magic panicked? Somewhere out in Phoenix, Shaquille O’Neal is laughing out loud as he Twitters.

Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said the end of regulation will “haunt him forever,” but his nightmare was a self-inflicted psychological scar. His decision to play Nelson in the fourth quarter and overtime will turn out to be more damaging than any missed free throw or careless turnover.

Van Gundy reasoned that he gave Nelson more minutes in the second half because Orlando was struggling on offense and Alston would have had a difficult time getting in rhythm after sitting for a long time.

“I thought we had a really, really bad third quarter,” Van Gundy explained. “It wasn’t so much one guy over the other, it was just we had a unit in the fourth that was playing real well and then you get down to the point where Rafer hasn’t played in 10 or 12 minutes. I thought it would be to bring him back. Jameer wasn’t doing a whole lot, but it also wasn’t hurting us at all.”

Alston had 11 points on 5-for-13 shooting, two assists and one turnover in 27 minutes. Nelson had two points, three turnovers and three assists in 26 minutes.

“I was shocked. I was shocked,” Alston told the Associated Press of his Van Gundy’s decision to bench him. “It’s tough. You’re thinking Coach will come back to you. The first two games I could understand, but again we were right there to win the game. As a player you would like to have your number called.”

Van Gundy dismissed the idea that Orlando’s lack of experience was not a factor in the Magic being down 3-1 in the series. Instead, he pointed out some regrettable mistakes that will stick with them all summer and maybe beyond that.

“Well, 19 turnovers to eight. Free throw shooting and poor execution down the stretch,” Van Gundy said.

Dwight Howard tried to defend his teammate and close friend, saying it was more Fisher than Nelson’s decision not to contest the shot that killed the Magic in Game 4.

“We tried to take that away, but he just made a tough shot,” Howard said. “We just rushed a little bit. But there’s nothing we can do about it right now.”

Despite Nelson’s botched assignment on defense and all the turnovers, Orlando still had a chance to secure the victory with 11 seconds left when Howard was fouled by Bryant and sent him to the line with the Magic ahead 87-84. All Howard needed to do was sink one free throw the outcome would have been different.

“I just missed them. I’ve been working my free throws, I just didn’t make them,” said Howard, who was 6-for-14 from the line and his two huge misses with 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter allowed the Lakers a chance to tie game.

“It wasn’t just me, it was all of us,” Howard said of Orlando’s 22-for-37 free throw shooting. “But there is no reason to have any doubts right now. Never stop fighting, never stop believing. We have to bounce back. There’s no need to hang our heads.”

Howard’s monster game – 16 points, 21 rebounds and a Finals record nine blocked shots – was overshadowed by his seven turnovers and his eight missed foul shots. Hedo Turkoglu led the Magic with 25 points, but he was 8-for-13 from the line. Rashard Lewis struggled all night and finished with just six points on 2-for-10 shooting.

Should the Magic somehow win Game 5, it would only prolong the inevitable. The Lakers are now in complete control of the series and the Magic players, as well as Coach Van Gundy, have no one to blame but themselves.

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Rafer Alston, aka Skip to My Lou, scored 20 points and helped point Orlando to a 108-104 victory in Game 3.

The Orlando Magic finally won a game in the NBA Finals after failing six times and, at least for one night, made NBA followers believe that they have a shot against the Los Angeles Lakers in this series.

When you break down Game 3, the Magic won, 108-104, not because Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis or Hedo Turkoglu played lights out, or even because Kobe Bryant showed his vulnerable side. The Magic broke into the win column mainly because of the man they call Skip to My Lou.

When you check the box score, you see that Howard and Lewis each scored 21 points and Turkoglu hit his playoff average with 18 points. As you go down the list you notice Rafer Alston had 20 points. Bingo! That was the difference.

“I was aggressive from start to finish,” Alston said. “I was able to mix it up. That’s what I do best instead of just standing on the 3-point line. That’s what you guys saw in me the first two games, standing on the 3-point line, as if I was Ray Allen or somebody. Tonight I was able to penetrate, get to the foul line, shoot the pull-up jumper, shoot the three, find open men.”

As Rafer Alston, the Magic point guard has struggled with his shot and found himself competing with Jameer Nelson for minutes in Game 1 and Game 2 – both Laker victories.

As New York City streetball legend Skip to My Lou, who showed up in Game 3, the Magic point guard played 36 minutes, made eight of his 12 shots, swished his only 3-point attempt and his push-the-pill-up-the-court approach was the biggest reason why Orlando shot 75% in the first half and 62% for the game.

“Skip did a good job of attacking and allowing guys to get open for free shots. We have to do that against a team like the Lakers. Make them move and try to get easier shots,” said Howard, who easily played his best game of the series with 21 points, 14 rebounds and sank 11 of his 16 free throws.

Notice that Howard referred to him as Skip and not Rafer.

Howard knows that when Alston is skipping with the ball and plays as Skip to My Lou, his game turns into an And 1 Mix Tape and his swag permeates through the rest of his teammates.

“Skip to My Lou got us started early in that first quarter,” Lewis said of his starting point guard, who gave Orlando another scoring threat besides Howard, Lewis and Turkoglu.

“We played with more speed, more energy on the offensive end,” Alston said. “A lot of pick and roll, which is our game, and find Dwight. The bad thing is we shot 62 and a half percent and almost lost the game. We gotta find a way to defend these guys, stop fouling Kobe on 3-point shots and pull-up jumpers.”

Magic coach Stan Van Gundy took a lot of heat for playing Nelson too much in Game 1, which many observers say disrupted his team’s flow. But Alston said there was never a moment where he was upset with Van Gundy for his point guard rotation.

“He told us he was looking for somebody that maybe get out there find a rhythm, maybe stick some shots,” Alston said of his coach. “First two games, myself and Jameer were struggling to do so. Stan and I have a great relationship. He understands that he’s just trying to coach to win games; I’m trying to play and help him win games and help this team. Never once took it personal.

“In the first game, I just said it was a rhythm thing and never had that done before, never played like that. Second game, I was able to find a flow but not hit shots. Tonight I was able to make shots,” added Alston, who was 3-for-17 from the field and had just 10 points in the first two games of the Finals.

“The guard play was great. Rafer got off to a good start and played very, very well; played with great confidence,” Van Gundy said. “We still turned the ball over too much, but the guard play was clearly much, much better.”

And the reason for Alston’s turnaround?

“You have good games and bad games. Rafer has bounced back well in the playoffs before. He’s had some great games in the playoffs and he’s had some other games that weren’t as good. That’s just sort of the way it goes. I don’t think there’s any big psychological mystery to the whole thing,” Van Gundy said. “The one thing that you can’t question with our team is our resilience. I thought we held our composure pretty well.”

Speaking of composure, when the ever-honest Van Gundy was asked again about the motivational push that got Alston going in Game 3, he sarcastically replied: “I’m a motivational genius. That’s what I am. I thought for two days about what to say to him and I said, ‘Play your game.’ Took me two days to come up with that.”

If Alston keeps “playing his game,” the Magic might actually push this series back to Los Angeles. “This league is a make or miss league,” he said. “First two games, I’m missing and I look horrible. Tonight, I’m making and I look good.”

Van Gundy agreed.

“When the ball goes in, those look like really good shots,” the Magic coach said. “And when they don’t go in, you say ‘Wow, they’re not getting any good shots. When the ball is going in 62 percent of the time, those are great shots.”

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Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy has exhausted every option in this series, and still finds his team down 0-2. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

Game. Set. Match. The NBA Finals are officially over. The Los Angeles Lakers absorbed the Orlando Magic’s best shot and still pulled out a 101-96 overtime victory in Game 2 of the NBA Finals to take a commanding 2-0 series lead.

The percentages do not favor Orlando as only three teams in the history of the league have been able to climb out of an 0-2 hole in the Finals: The 1969 Boston Celtics, the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers and the 2006 Miami Heat. The ‘06 Heat is also one of just three teams to sweep the middle three games (the Detroit Pistons did in 2004 and the Lakers pulled it off in 2001), something Orlando needs to do just to stay afloat in this series.

So, to say that the Magic is in deep trouble is the understatement of the season. They basically have one foot in the grave, and Coach Stan Van Gundy appears to be running out of options.

The Magic got a great game out of Rashard Lewis (34 points, 6-of-12 on 3-pointers) and still lost. It got a great game out of Hedo Turkoglu (22 points, 8-of-17 from the field) and still lost. Van Gundy exhausted every possible combination on the court, drew up a great play at the end of regulation and still lost.

“We tried some different things. I’m not sure I’ve got another lineup to throw out there that you haven’t seen now,” Van Gundy said. “We played with no point guard, we played conventionally, we played Rashard at the three, we played Hedo at the two. We played Hedo at the one, two and three. We played Rashard at the three and four. We played big. What did they say? You keep throwing stuff at the wall and hope something sticks.”

The Magic had chances to win, but Van Gundy pointed out the 41% shooting and the 20 turnovers ultimately doomed them. The Magic guards shot 6-for-26 for the game and center Dwight Howard was responsible for seven of Orlando’s 20 turnovers, another reason to call him Blankman instead of Superman despite scoring 16 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. To avoid a Lakers sweep, Howard needs to play like a real superhero and stop looking at the referees for help.

“Yeah, I was frustrated,” Howard said. “Being a leader of my team, my teammates cannot see me frustrated. I gotta played through all the different situations and learn from them.”

After two games, Kobe Bryant is playing like a Finals MVP and Dwight Howard has been very ordinary.

Orlando played much of the second half with Turkoglu at the point, benching Jameer Nelson and Rafer Alston. After his brief shining moment in the second quarter of Game 1, Nelson has not been much of a factor in the Finals, which was to be expect since he has not played since February. Alston, however, does not have an excuse. Skip to My Lou has been skipping these past two games. He was 2-for-9 for six points in the Game 1 and followed that with a 1-for-8 effort in Game 2 and scored a measly four points.

“I thought Rafer was playing well. They’re just leaving him open on every post up and couldn’t get the ball in the basket,” said Van Gundy, whose team was 33-for-79 from the field and got just 17 bench points. L.A.’s Lamar Odom (who scored 19 points) outscored Orlando’s bench by himself.

“We were searching for somebody to make a shot. Obviously, we didn’t find anybody,” Van Gundy continued. “I thought, for the most part, L.A.’s defense was good and I thought our guards had very good open looks. We just couldn’t knock anything down. I thought they got plenty of shots. I don’t think it was much trouble getting our guards shots. They’re not guarding them. They’re only guarding three guys.”

The Lakers mainly focused their defense on Howard, Turkoglu and Lewis and took their chances on the “other” guys. J.J. Redick was 2-for-9, Mikael Pietrus was 1-for-3 and Nelson was 1-for-3. When asked how he can fix the problem, Van Gundy answered: “I don’t have any idea on how to fix that.”

The Magic player who feels worse than Alston is rookie guard Courtney Lee, who missed a layup with 0.6 left in regulation that would won the game for Orlando. The missed opportunity ended up biting the Magic as the Lakers outscored them 13-8 in overtime.

“We missed it. I don’t know what else to say,” Van Gundy said. “We executed well, Hedo made a great pass and we missed it.”

When a reporter commented on the fact that Van Gundy has done everything he can to win the game, the Magic coach replied: “I wouldn’t say that. We win and lose together. It’s not me doing everything and our players not getting it done. All we did was try a lot of stuff today.”

All Van Gundy and his staff can do now is avoid getting swept.

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Magic center Dwight Howard called out Coach Stan Van Gundy after Orlando fell 92-88 to Boston in Game 5. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Dwight Howard is showing his age in these NBA playoffs. In the first round, he threw a malicious elbow to the head of Philadelphia’s Samuel Dalembert that resulted in a one-game suspension. Then in Game 5 against the Boston Celtics, the 23-year-old All-Star center threw Boston point guard Rajon Rondo to the floor out of frustration and later threw his coach under the bus.

The Magic pulled a disappearing act in the final six minutes of Game 5 in Boston and allowed the Celtics to rally and outscore them, 17-3, late in the fourth quarter. The Magic’s inability to close cost them the game, as the Celtics won 92-88, and it most likely cost them the series.

After the game, a defeated and disappointed Howard complained about not getting enough touches on offense and blamed Coach Stan Van Gundy for failing to put the correct lineup on the court.

“The coaches have to recognize what’s working on the floor. Stick to it. Even if it’s half your starters on the floor. Not just the guys you have put the most trust in. You have to have trust in everybody,” Howard said.

“The reason why we were winning is because we moved the ball, we ran, got easy shots. Our coach has to recognize when he has a certain group out there and they are getting the job done, we have to leave those guys on the floor. We are going to make mistakes, but I think you have to go with what works.”

Then, Howard added more fuel to the fire by praising Celtics Coach Doc Rivers. “Their coach left the guys on the court who got the job done,” Howard said. “That’s what championship teams do.”

Howard finished with 12 points on 5-of-10 shots from the field and 2-of-3 from the line. He grabbed 17 rebounds but failed to block a shot for only the second time in the series.

“I would just say it’s tough to win all season when you play inside-out with people who got you off to a good season. I think I’m capable of scoring in the post,” said Howard, who was outscored by Glen “Big Baby” Davis, 22-12. Howard made one basket in the fourth quarter.

“I don’t’ want to say it’s all about offense. But when you have a dominant player, let him be dominant,” Howard said. “I have to do it defensively where I have to be more aggressive and offensively I have to get the ball. I don’t think you are going to win a lot of games when your post player only gets 10 shots.

“It’s tough to get yourself going and get a lot of shots without a lot of touches. We have to do a better job with that.”

Van Gundy said the Magic has no one to blame but themselves for playing not to lose at the end.

“We just quit playing,” Van Gundy said. “We looked like we were trying to run the clock out, walking the ball up the floor, playing halfcourt. It’s not the way we wanted to play it.”

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Stan Van Gundy was called out by Shaquille O'Neal, who accused his former coach of being a "master of panic." (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

Shaquille O’Neal recently called out Stan Van Gundy for being a “nobody” and his whole coaching career has been one big “flop.”

We all know Van Gundy is the Orlando Magic coach and is the brother of Jeff Van Gundy. Dig a little deeper and you find out that he was a longtime assistant for Pat Riley in New York and Miami. Dig even more deeper and you find that there is some truth to what O’Neal was saying. Van Gundy is a good regular-season coach, but there is evidence that he might have pushed the eject button during a playoff series.

When O’Neal was in Miami under Van Gundy, the Heat lost at home in Game 7 to Detroit in the 2005 Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat carried a seven-point lead midway through the fourth quarter but, for whatever reason, could not close the deal as the Pistons rallied and eventually knocked out the Heat. Maybe the Heat did “panic” a little? Hard to say for sure, but usually the head coach becomes the punching bag whenever a team comes apart at the seams. When players see things are going bad, they look to the head coach for leadership and guidance. I believe this is what O’Neal was referring to when he said, “When the general panics, the whole team panics.”

Shaq has been known to embellish from time to time, but The Diesel might be painting a telling picture about Van Gundy.

Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic wrote this after the Suns recently played the Magic:

After Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O’Neal heard that Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy made negative comments about O’Neal’s attempt to draw an offensive foul in Tuesday’s game, Shaq fired back.

According to the Arizona Republic Van Gundy said: ”I was shocked, seriously, shocked,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “And very disappointed ’cause he knows what it’s like. Let’s stand up and play like men.”

That did not go over well with O’Neal. Here are some of his comments:

“He (Dwight Howard) came with the same old, stale Patrick Ewing move so I tried to stand there and take the charge. The new rules say if you come through, you fall. But as I fell, I realized that it was a flop and it reminded me of Coach Van Gundy’s whole coaching career. The one thing I despise is a frontrunner. First of all, none of his players like him. When it gets tough, he will become the master of panic like he did before and he will quit like he did before.

“I see him (Howard) and Stan complaining the whole game because they have to. I’ve done more than him, his brother and Patrick Ewing. Stan Van Gundy reminds me of a broke navigational system. He knows everything about everything but ain’t never been nowhere.”

Shaq, you had me with the “stale Patrick Ewing move.”

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