FanHouse Stanvangundy

ORLANDO -- After three seasons of banging his head against a wall, J.J. Redick finally has proven he belongs in the NBA.

He never thought it would take this long.

Redick may have come into the league as one of the most celebrated college basketball players in recent history, but it has taken a complete remaking of his game and his attitude to finally carve his niche.

"I've been thinking about it recently, and maybe I wasn't ready to do this last year, or my second year, and certainly not as a rookie,'' Redick said Friday night after helping the Orlando Magic hold off the Detroit Pistons 110-103. "I could not have stepped in and played well like this, but I've learned how to be a pro. And that wasn't easy.''

ORLANDO -- Coming to the defense of his All-Star center, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy didn't criticize the officials Wednesday night -- he didn't want another fine -- but he was clearly critical of the way Dwight Howard is being officiated this season.

Howard, the biggest, strongest, best center in the NBA, is being unfairly penalized, according to Van Gundy.

"He gets penalized for being so strong. We give guys an advantage in this league for being quick, but we penalize them for being strong like Dwight,'' Van Gundy said after Howard finished with 11 fouls in the last two games combined. "If you hit a perimeter guy on a drive the way they are allowed to hit Dwight all the time around the basket, it would be a flagrant foul.''

Vince Carter was about to deliver one of those "don't-you-wish-I-was-still-here" games Friday night in New Jersey, when he fell to the floor clutching his left ankle midway in the second quarter.

Carter, traded by the Nets to the Orlando Magic this summer, had 16 points in his first 15 minutes before he left with a sprained ankle. X-rays were negative and he told reporters that "hopefully,'' he could play Sunday in Toronto.

His mother, who was there, described it to the Orlando Sentinel as a "mild sprain.'' It happened on a drive to the basket when he stepped awkwardly on the foot of New Jersey guard Devin Harris.

It didn't take long for Magic coach Stan Van Gundy to let his new star know that no one is immune from his sometimes-biting, often-surprising critique.

Vince Carter -- the eight-time All-Star -- caught Van Gundy's wrath Wednesday, just the second day of training camp. Often treated with kid gloves during his time in New Jersey, Carter became the example of what not to do late in the morning practice.

"He (Carter) did not play well defensively today. He didn't do a good job out there. He's capable of doing a lot better, and that's what I want to see," Van Gundy said. "As a matter of fact, we'll talk to him about that and show him some (film) clips tomorrow."

ORLANDO -- The Orlando Magic will announce soon that that they have exercised the option year on coach Stan Van Gundy's original contract, putting him on the payroll at least through the 2010-11 season.

Van Gundy this season would have been going into the final guaranteed year on his original contract, signed before the 2007-08 season.

General manager Otis Smith confirmed Monday at the team's media day that they have guaranteed the contract through next season.

ORLANDO -- Ever since he was traded to the Orlando Magic almost three months ago, Vince Carter has said all the right things. He's talked endlessly about fitting in with a team that reached the NBA Finals last season, about altering his game to fit with center Dwight Howard, and about being happy to change the way he has played his entire career.

On Friday, coach Stan Van Gundy finally asked him to stop.

He doesn't want Carter fitting in. He wants him standing out.

The Orlando Magic sent Rafer Alston to New Jersey earlier this summer because they didn't want a point guard controversy brewing this season.

They are going to have one now. It's only a matter of time.

By signing veteran point guard Jason Williams – a starter for the 2006 NBA champion Miami Heat – the Magic have opened the door to a world of late-game second guessing, especially if starter Jameer Nelson can't deliver consistently and keep the Magic atop the Eastern Conference standings.

ORLANDO -- They're as different as Yoda and Danny DeVito, the Grateful Dead and Weird Al Yankovic, a complete mismatch in wisdom and savvy and diamonds on their fingers. Just because Phil Jackson evokes the appearance of a half-asleep grandfather waiting for his Metamucil doesn't mean he isn't in complete control of his scene. And just because Stan Van Gundy is running around and howling like a crazed banshee doesn't mean he has a clue.

If the Lakers win another championship Sunday night, Game 5 of the NBA Finals might signify the end of Jackson's spiritual, never-boring adventure through coaching. Yet even as he stares down his 10th crown -- which would push him past one of his biggest critics, the late Red Auerbach, as the most decorated of all pro basketball coaches -- he keeps absorbing potshots from snipers who think he's cruising through a career as an opportunistic fraud.

Bloggers knee-jerking on the phone + roundtable style = RoundCast.

Wrapping up Game 2 of the NBA Finals, Gary Washburn and Matt Moore joined me to break down all the action. J.J. Redick's play was defended, as was Stan Van Gundy's handling of his point guard rotation this time around.

The big topic, though, was Dwight Howard, and whether or not he needs to dominate -- on both ends of the floor -- for the Magic to have a chance to get back into this series.

All that, plus we take a look into the future and see what might happen as the series shifts to Orlando. Will the Lakers pull off the sweep? Can the Magic win four out of the next five games to get the title? Give us a listen, and find out for yourself.

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.