The Fan Voice: "I Know It’s A Cliché, But…."By Live or Die Magic | May 23rd, 2009
As an NBA fan, I’ve spent the better part of the last decade or so abhorring the virulent use of clichés by players, coaches, and commentators. After hearing phrases like “giving 110%,” “taking it one game at a time,” and my personal favorite, “it is what it is,” over and over again, it starts to grate on you. If you add in players’ liberal use of “space fillers” like “you know, um” and “that being said,” among others, you begin to realize that people are capable of saying quite a bit without actually saying anything at all.
So, it must admit that I found it quite refreshing and enlightening when I saw what I would have previously categorized as a standard cliché being utilized in a real and effective manner. I’m referring to the über-coaching that Stan Van Gundy has done in Games 1 and 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. It is perhaps the best in-game motivational coaching that I personally have seen from him since he joined the Magic. It is too early to tell where and how this season will end for the Magic, but it is apparent that this is a coach that knows his team and is able to guide it effectively, making the necessary vocal tweaks, when needed.
In both games, the Cavaliers have used their home court, their home crowd, and their energy to establish large early leads. Despite these leads, the each game has been decided by one point. The Magic have not despaired but instead made the necessary corrections and overcame the lead slowly and with a measure of execution and timely shots. While Stan Van Gundy is not responsible for the uncanny shooting of Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, Mickael Pietrus, and Courtney Lee, he
is responsible for reminding them of this ability and making them aware of what they need to do to make use of this ability.
During timeouts and halftime, the TNT cameras picked up a very calm, yet direct Stan Van Gundy imploring his players to take each possession one at a time and to get one stop, and then another. He talked about the players focusing more on their effort and the need to play 48 minutes. If you’re reading this in a vacuum, it sounds like just a bunch of clichés. But in viewing these statements in the context of the game, both before and after Van Gundy made these statements, I realized that they were extremely insightful and accurate, no matter how basic they sounded.
The Magic did exactly what Stan Van Gundy told them to do. They didn’t have to decrease that deficit all at once, they simply did it one possession at time and one stop at a time. The players seemingly took Stan’s abstract words and applied them concretely. I’m not ready to stop groaning every time I hear a cliché, but I guess there are times when the most simply observation is the only one to make.
The most glaring problem in Games 1 and 2 is that the Cavaliers have been able to storm out to big leads while the Magic start out slow. It is a testament to Stan that he has been able to adjust his team’s performance during the game. Hopefully the raucous Magic home crowd can help the Magic out to big leads of their own during Games 3 and 4.
But we’ll just have to take it one game at a time.
This message was not subject of approval by the NBA or the Orlando Magic. The views expressed in this blog do not necessarily reflect the views of the Orlando Magic or the NBA, but solely the writer.
"My life will go on, this much I know. Cars and games will come and go. But never once will I forgetta, the way we danced, dear Dick Bavetta." -
from "I Left My Heart In Dick Bavetta"
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