For the past four years, Nelson has hosted a week of team-bonding activities in his hometown of Philadelphia, where he and his mates engage in various activities which attempt to build chemistry among the players away from the basketball court.
The fun this summer ranged from paintball to baseball, and before the Phillies game that the guys attended, Nelson got in a little batting practice -- where he hit at least one of the pitches hard enough to send it sailing over the wall in left-center.
It's not easy to reach the NBA Finals as the Eastern Conference champs, bolster the roster with another All-Star, and still open training camp next month talking about being overlooked.
Van Gundy intended to talk Thursday about the recent addition of veteran point guard Jason Williams, but he couldn't help veering into the perceived slights his team has received this summer as it got overshadowed by the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers.
There isn't really a nice way to put this, so I'm just going to lay it out there: Stan Van Gundy created a real mess with the way he handled the Magic's point guards in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. And now it's on him to get it cleaned up in time for Game 2 Sunday.
The problem is, there's no easy way to do that. Between Jameer Nelson playing 23 minutes, Rafer Alston blaming his extended time on the bench for his poor shooting, and Anthony Johnson picking up a DNP-CD, Van Gundy might just have too many issues to resolve as his team prepares for round two against the Lakers.
LOS ANGELES -- It's almost a cliche the way he has embraced his every locale, living not only the dream but the time and the place. The world's most interesting man? Rather than that phony-suave goofball in the Dos Equis ads, I'll nominate Phil Jackson, who morphed from a free-love, New York hippie in the '70s to a Midwestern family guy in the '90s before migrating to California and -- what else? -- shacking up with the boss' much-younger daughter in a house by the sea.
Amid his radical lifestyle shifting, he has found time to become the gold standard of modern coaches in pro sports, now approaching his 10th NBA title in a career that looked bleak when he was coaching the minor-league Albany Patroons and driving their van on road trips. You hate to tell a legend when it's time to retire, especially when he's at the top of his game. But the perfect ending for Jackson would be to let the purple-and-gold confetti fall on his silver mane, celebrate his fourth crown in 10 years with the Lakers, appreciate his psychological work in transforming Kobe Bryant from a superbrat to an all-time maestro and depart in style as the league's ultimate coaching champion.
Bloggers knee-jerking on the phone + roundtable style = RoundCast.
A lot of things went wrong for the Orlando Magic in Game 1 of the Finals, and Matt Steinmetz and Matt Watson joined me to break them all down in this edition of the RoundCast.
We discussed Dwight Howard's single field goal, and Kobe Bryant's dominant performance, and wondered whether Stan Van Gundy will stick with a single-coverage defense on Bryant as the series goes on. But the hot topic was Jameer Nelson's 23 minutes in his first NBA game in four months -- I thought it was a mistake, while Watson and Steinmetz weren't so sure.
All that, plus our thoughts on how the rest of the series will play out, beginning with Game 2 on Sunday.
The Orlando Sentinelis reporting that the Magic have decided to hold out Jameer Nelson for tonight's Game 1 of the Finals, and that it's unlikely he'll return at any point in the series.
Nelson hasn't played since February 3, and it was a long-shot that he'd be ready to go in time for Orlando's run at the title anyway. But he had been practicing with the team, and players were optimistic about him seeing some time on the court and being able to contribute in at least some capacity.
The Larry O'Brien itself is plenty of motivation for the participants in the 2009 Finals. But there will also be a few individual goals driving those involved.
Dwight Howard: Everyone marks Kobe as the NBA's preeminent love-him-or-hate-him player, but D-12 earns a fair amount of vitriol, whether for his lack of refinement in the post, his Shaq II free throw stroke, his alleged faux-choir boy persona or the sentiment that slam dunk stardom has rendered the D.P.O.Y. publicly overrated. Let's just say those Patrick Ewing comparisons (ahem) would disappear with a ring.
Hedo Turkoglu: Like kindred spirit Lamar Odom, Hedo will be a free agent signing his last long-term, high-dollar deal this summer. A marvelous turn which began in Game 7 against Boston could land Hedo near the top of the offseason ledger, above everyone but Carlos Boozer. Turk needs a good Finals series to keep that hope alive, though.
On Wedensday, it seems as if everyone has been commenting on the Orlando Magic's epic fail in Game 5 of their series against the Boston Celtics. At the center of the commotion are comments by Orlando's star player, Dwight Howard, over lack of touches and lack of ball movement in the 4th quarter of Game 5.
I'm not here to dissect whether Dwight is right or not, but I will tell you that a lot of Orlando's recent troubles can be attributed to the injury to Jameer Nelson.
Prior to injuring his shoulder, Jameer was selected to his first All-Star Game, and had Orlando off to their best start in the post-Shaquille O'Neal era. Following his injury, Orlando was still able to hold it together, but the team really wouldn't find out what it was missing until the start of the playoffs.
The 3 PM ET trade deadline in the NBA has come and gone, and while there were plenty of big names rumored to be on the move, few teams actually had the guts to pull the trigger. There were plenty of deals made, however, including one that might have one Eastern Conference team feeling like it's back in the title conversation. A wrap-up of today's events after the jump.
PHOENIX -- The supposed disrespect of Mo Williams with regard to this year's All-Star game has been well-documented. Williams and the rest of the Cavs organization believed that with their stellar record, Cleveland should have two All-Stars, and not just LeBron representing the team all by himself.
When Jameer Nelson's injury opened up a spot on the team, there was hope, but it was quickly dashed when Ray Allen received Nelson's spot. But then Chris Bosh and his sprained knee were ruled out of action for Sunday's All-Star game, Mo finally got a spot on the roster.
When I saw him at Saturday's All-Star practice, I asked Mo if he had plans to send Bosh a get-well present. You know, as sort of a thank-you for opening up the spot that got him on the team. Video of our exchange, after the jump.
The headline of this story might not be all that original, but what Jameer Nelson tries to do with his teammates during the offseason certainly is.
It's not easy to reach the NBA Finals as the Eastern Conference champs, bolster the roster with another All-Star, and still open training camp next month talking about being overlooked.
There isn't really a nice way to put this, so I'm just going to lay it out there: 
A lot of things went wrong for the Orlando Magic in Game 1 of the Finals, and Matt Steinmetz and Matt Watson joined me to break them all down in this edition of the RoundCast.
The Orlando Sentinel 
The Larry O'Brien itself is plenty of motivation for the participants in the 2009 Finals. But there will also be a few individual goals driving those involved.
On Wedensday, it seems as if everyone has been commenting on the Orlando Magic's epic fail in Game 5 of their series against the Boston Celtics. At the center of the commotion are comments by Orlando's star player, 
