Stan Van Gundy and Orlando's Second-Chance Band Earned Their Spot in Finals

ORLANDO

Seeing Stan Van Gundy in his office Saturday night -- euphoric, still employed and, incredibly, a day away from breaking down game film of Kobe Bryant -- felt a little jarring, almost out of focus.

We could have sworn this was the same rumpled, diminutive guy who had lost the greatest center on the planet just two weeks ago and, ostensibly, his job.

Remember? Dwight Howard calling out his coach after the Orlando Magic had blown a 14-point lead and Game 5 to Boston in their second-round series? Howard said something about "more touches" and letting dominant players "be dominant."

The aftermath of that game was certainly the end for Team Turmoil of these NBA playoffs, pink slips to come later.

Any wizened basketball mind could see that. Heck, even Peter Vecsey could see that.

This wasn't Shaquille O'Neal once telling Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant, "If the big dog don't get fed, the house don't get guarded."

Howard was calling out a man who never played the game professionally. According to several players on Enabling Sports Personalities Network, Van Gundy didn't "relate to the players" like former pros turned coaches. Embedded in a TV studio, they took their shots.

And Van Gundy and his team are still standing. The Magic dethroned the defending world champions and then parlayed a Game 7 win in Boston into dumping LeBron and his 66-win team in six games of the Eastern Conference finals. The coach doesn't get there without 40 points and 14 rebounds from the player he made sure received the basketball in the right places on the floor Saturday night in Orlando.

But let's be clear: Howard doesn't get there without Van Gundy, either.

"He pushes us to the limits," Howard said nearing midnight in Orlando after Game 6. "Me and Stan have had our ups and downs, but for the most part, he's always, you know, always did a great job of motivating me and my teammates. He is a great motivator."