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Howard Reflects Back on Magic Days

Josh Cohen
Digital News Manager

By John Denton

Jan. 14, 2015

ORLANDO – During his eight seasons with the Orlando Magic, Dwight Howard enjoyed plenty of good times such as a run to the NBA Finals, a return to the Eastern Conference Finals, a dunk contest title and numerous all-star game appearances.

But there was also a messy divorce where Howard feuded with former head coach Stan Van Gundy demanded a trade and sent the Magic into a rebuilding spiral.

Clearly, Howard has taken something of a hit too since leaving the Magic – first, for the Los Angeles Lakers and then the Houston Rockets. Not only has he not won a playoff series since the 2010 run to the Eastern Conference Finals, Howard hasn’t repeated his success as a three-time Defensive Player of the Year and the one-time record-holder for most all-star votes has fallen to seventh in the Western Conference among frontcourt players.

Back in Orlando on Wednesday for Houston’s game against the Magic, Howard said he hoped that he would be remembered in Central Florida for all of the good times and not the ugly exit.

``Any time we come back to Orlando there are always memories of the past, and the good days that we had here,’’ Howard said. ``Of course, I think about (his legacy in Orlando) a lot and talk about it a lot. We had an amazing time even though it didn’t end the way that we all wanted it to end. At one time, it was great and I enjoyed every minute of it. From being in the community, being in the Finals to being at Disney World or Universal Studios – I had a great time here. I wish things didn’t happen the way that they did where it was sour at the end, but at the end of day my time here was amazing.’’

When Howard forced his way out of Orlando, the Magic were forced to totally rebuild the roster and they won just 20 and 23 games the past two seasons. After Howard defected from the Los Angeles to the Rockets, the Lakers plummeted to 27-55 last season and they are again one of the worst teams in the NBA at 12-27.

Howard raved about the Magic’s talent when he was in Orlando in the preseason and he said again on Wednesday that he can see signs of them soon turning the corner.

``That’s just a process. They have a lot of guys now who can really play basketball,’’ Howard said. ``You look at (Nikola) Vucevic, you’ve got (Victor) Oladipo and some good vets who can really show the young guys the way to go. They have a talented squad and if they keep playing with energy and effort every night, good things will start to happen.’’

DUNK HEARD AROUND THE WORLD: When Vucevic jab-stepped to the right, drove left and dunked with authority on the head of Chicago power forward Pau Gasol on Monday night, it brought his joyous teammates up off the bench and it sent a hush over the crowd at the United Center.

Who knew that the impact of that dunk would also make it all the way back to Vucevic’s home country of Montenegro?

Because Vucevic was playing in a game against a fellow Montenegrin – Chicago’s Nikola Mirotic is one of three from that country in the NBA – fans back in the European country were watching the game despite the time difference. And not long after Vucevic surprisingly rammed in the lefty dunk over the 7-foot Gasol, he began receiving congratulatory text messages from people from his home country.

``The dunk back home (created) a huge buzz. It was really all over the newspaper there (in Montenegro) and my friends told me that everybody was talking about it,’’ Vucevic said. ``It means a lot to me to know that people are following me and that they are behind me. They respect the fact that I represent my country here. As a young guy I really enjoy knowing that I have a lot of fans over there.’’

Vucevic, who scored a career-best 34 points on Saturday in Portland and followed it up with 33 more points on Monday in the Chicago victory, also got plenty of feedback from Magic fans on Tuesday in Orlando. When he went shopping at a local mall on Tuesday, Vucevic said several fans approached him and wanted to talk about his dunk over Gasol.

``I don’t do this very often, so people were a bit surprised that I was able to dunk it,’’ Vucevic said with a laugh. ``But I got some good feedback from my friends, teammates, fans on Twitter and in Orlando when I came back to the mall. It was nice to know that people enjoyed my dunk. Twitter was going crazy. So I guess I should do that more often. I think it was mainly people being surprised because I never do that.’’

DEFENSIVE DEVYN: Earlier in the month, Magic rookie Devyn Marble found himself in the NBA’s Development League in a move designed to get him some much-needed playing time. As it turns out, it was the right spot for Marble because he has since ascended to the Magic’s starting lineup to replace the injured Tobias Harris (sprained ankle).

Marble has found himself in the right spot several times of late as he’s accumulated eight steals in games against Portland and Chicago.

``There was a great possession across from our bench where he’s just in the right place and a guy makes a cut across the lane and (Marble) doesn’t gamble for a steal, but he gets a deflection,’’ Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. ``That’s what we want as a team – to be in the right place and not gamble for steals, but let your foundation carry you.’’

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