People sometimes wonder why a guy like Jeff Van Gundy hasn’t checked back into coaching in the NBA, but the answer’s pretty simple – he’s just got it way too easy right now. Instead of catching on with another losing franchise in need of a coach that will only get a group of decent to above average players so far, Jeff gets to hang out at the broadcast booth and say just about anything he wants without ever really being criticized, which is basically the exact opposite of being a coach.

His brother, Stan, on the other hand, will most likely end up in coaching again, as it’s hard for contending teams on the cusp of joining the elite tier to ignore a guy who had a .641 career winning percentage when the Orlando Magic fired him a few months ago. And it’s that very reason that the kid brother in his big boy announcer’s chair is going to keep sticking up for Stan every chance he gets.

Jeff’s latest comments about the Magic front office came on Mike Lupica’s ESPN Radio show, and he basically doesn’t understand why people have faith in this sadsack organization.

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I think we all need to take a seat, maybe form a circle and just relax for a few minutes. We get a little bit too crazy about sports sometimes, and we tend to overreact toward athletes and media analysts for their decisions and/or opinions. I mean, take Twitter, for example. Have you seen the horrible verbal venom that is spewed at famous people on that “social media” site on a daily basis? Hell, I’m as guilty as the next guy for making cracks at some athletes, but I’m talking about the violent threats.

It’s really getting out of hand, and it’s been spilling out into our stadiums and arenas now, ruining the idea of fun competition for everyone. What the hell’s the point of going to a game or a bar these days if you constantly have to look over your shoulder and wonder if someone is about to stab you? Sports are supposed to take our minds off the really sh*tty things in life and provide hope and inspiration. Instead, we have people slaughtering each other in the streets.

Everybody calm down and let’s remember why we’re here in the first place… to hope that the other team loses and pray for people to be fired. That’s what sports are all about, dang it.

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I took a couple weeks off from doing these here ROFLMNBAO posts for two reasons: 1) because the last two weeks of the season were soooooo boring and B) I forgot. But I figured what better time than now to resume posting these NBA meme pictures since the news that they’re so in demand. Form a line to the left, attractive girls who want to give me money to create ridiculously corny-sounding sites!

Also, I figured it was a better time than any for this week’s installment with the playoffs in full swing and individual awards being presented by the league. As we already know, Tyson Chandler is the Defensive Player of the Year, Jason Kidd received the Sportsmanship Award and Gregg Popovich is the Coach of the Year. “What about the other awards?” you ask while peeling apart the pages of my vintage Hustler collection. The NBA is taking its sweet ass time with those, so I’m issuing my own awards.

A lot happened in this condensed season, so it’s only fair that we recognize everyone for their efforts.

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Earlier this month, Orlando’s Local 6 Sports Director David “Ping” Pingalore reported that Dwight Howard told Orlando Magic management that he wanted coach Stan Van Gundy fired. This story “broke” on April 4, and it led to one of the most amazingly awkward interviews in NBA history, when Van Gundy told reporters point blank that he knew Howard tried to have him fired, and then Howard interrupted the interview and put his arm around Van Gundy, completely oblivious to what just happened. Howard’s reaction when the reporters filled him looked a little like this:

The problem with Ping’s report was that it wasn’t anything new. Magic writers like Jarrod Rudolph had reported months ago that Howard wanted Van Gundy out, but it went unnoticed because it hadn’t been preceded by two months of trade deadline drama. Ping’s “sources” – which we’ll discuss in a moment – and their #HOTTGOSS were more timely and convenient for the NBA media that needed something to fill the downtime between the trade deadline and the playoffs. So Ping was heralded for this so-called scoop, and he was given a free pass for his next aimless, unsubstantiated breaking story.

That story, of course, was this week’s report that Howard refused to play for Van Gundy and was faking his herniated disc injury as a protest. Well if that’s true, Howard is the most committed liar since George Costanza, because he is having season-ending surgery that will require four months of recovery.

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Orlando Magic center and free-agent-to-be Dwight Howard has been putting together yet another great season as the NBA’s best big man. But he’s also been setting a new standard for terrible PR decisions as he greases his way out of Orlando a little more each day. While he certainly hasn’t hit “The Decision” status yet, Howard is certainly busting his ass in trying.

It was simple enough at the beginning, as Howard only needed to cite the horrible job Otis Smith has done as GM, and most people would have said, “Ah yeah, dude’s got a point.” Instead, after asking for a trade, Howard claimed he needed to be surrounded with players who could help him win a championship, which didn’t win him any points with his current teammates. Then, after a horrific 4-game losing streak in which the Magic set new lows in franchise scoring, Howard threw his teammates under the bus again, while claiming his trade demand wasn’t hurting the team.

And even though the Magic have bounced back to win 5 of their last 7, including a huge victory over the Miami Heat, Howard is still pulling hissy fits out of his butt.

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Much to no one’s surprise, the Oklahoma City Thunder are currently the best team in the NBA, as Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook continue their strange “I’m not better than him but I’m secretly better than him” routine, and the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat have all but locked up their eventual meeting in the Eastern Conference Finals. And as I pointed out yesterday, while I might be a little biased, the Orlando Magic’s incredible collapse is probably the most interesting story in the NBA right now.

Other than that, all eyes are on the trade mill, so essentially the Magic are the focus of everyone with Dwight Howard standing firm with his preferred teams of the Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers and New Jersey Nets. Of course he’s also said that he’d play for the Boston Celtics or Chicago Bulls, but it’s clear as day that he wants to play in New Jersey or Brooklyn or wherever, and Magic GM Otis Smith is way too stubborn to trade him, so Howard will most likely sign there as a free agent.

Everything else is pretty much business as usual. So let’s make fun of everyone, shall we?

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