November 21.

After losing to the Nuggets away, the Magic had only one last opponent left in this Western Conference away trip, the Golden State Warriors.

After coming to Golden State, even though the Magic lacked Rashad Lewis, under the absolute foundation, it was still in the end:

109:101

8 points defeated the Golden State Warriors.

In this game, Pitrus was not ruthless in the face of his old master.

Not only did he play a very successful defense against Monta Ellis on the defensive end, forcing Ellis to only make 5 of 17 shots in the whole game, showing his embarrassment.

On the offensive end, Pitrus also made 6 of 8 shots, including 4 of 7 from outside the three-point line, effectively contributing 16 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.

And 16 points in a single game also broke Pitrus' single-game score high this season. Before that, he had 15 points in a single game against the Hornets.

In addition to Pitrus' outstanding performance in the face of his old club, Howard's performance in this game was also very impressive, putting a perfect end to the team's away trip to the West.

Howard was a big shot at the basket in the whole game. Facing Bidlins, who averaged 11.9 points and 11.2 rebounds per game this season, Howard, the Warcraft, taught him a good lesson in this game.

With Su Jiu's poor performance, Howard made 13 of 19 shots in the game and 5 of 11 free throws, and finally scored 31 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks, which can be said to be a good dominant under the basket.

As the other team's offensive backbone, Su Jiu's performance in this game was a bit sluggish.

Su Jiu only played 28 minutes in the whole game. In addition to his poor performance in this game, Van Gundy also did not want him to consume too much physical fitness in such a game that did not make much sense.

After all, Su Jiu had hidden dangers of injury, and the team played consecutive away games, so there are too many unstable factors in it.

So to be on the verge of conservatism, Van Gundy also controlled Su Jiu's playing time to be less than 30 minutes.

During the 28-minute playing time, Su Jiu had only made 2 of 11 shots, including 0 of 3 from outside the three-point line and 2 of 2 free throws. He only scored 6 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists in total.

Although this data is definitely worthy of Su Jiu's status as a draft pick, judging from Su Jiu's condition this season, it can definitely be considered a bad game.

Fortunately, even though Su Jiu's shooting percentage is not good, when Su Jiu is on the court, he still uses his own way to connect the team.

And although his performance on the defensive end is not as dazzling as Pitrus, he still has his own value.

This situation also made Stan Van Gundy feel a little relieved, even though Su Jiu's performance in this game was already so bad.

Because for a real main player, it is not possible to score many points in a game.

But when he performs poorly, if he continues to keep him on the court at this time, will he play some other role?

If you can, then you will naturally be called a star. If you can't, you can only be called a scorer...

After defeating the Golden State Warriors away, this means that the Magic's away trip to the Western Conference in this round has been completely over.

Next they can return to Orlando and go back to their home court to deal with it.

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November 22.

After returning to home court, the Magic can also get three days off, during this period to restore their strength and prepare for the next schedule.

The players are also training and resting according to the team's requirements, so that their personal state reaches a peak while not forgetting their personal state in the game.

However, as time goes by, it seems that the All-Star weekend of this season will be approaching at most half a month.

This situation also made the group among fans more and more lively.

Because every year's All-Star weekend, this will not only be a relaxing journey for the stars, but also an easy thing for the fans.

Because during those days, fans will see the starry All-Star Game, and there will be lively stars from all walks of life.

It can be said that the All-Star Weekend is a sweet journey specially arranged by the league, although for the league, it is more like a money-making conference...

After all, the leeks have grown plump enough after a year. If the league does not organize an All-Star weekend to harvest, wouldn’t it be a loss?!!

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November 23.

The day after returning to his territory, Orlando, Stan Van Gundy rushed to the general manager's office. It seemed that there was something important to discuss.

The current general manager of the Magic is Otis Smith, who is also a classic case of a former NBA player re-employment after retirement.

However, compared to his slightly bad career, Otis Smith during his time as management is definitely a skill.

And Otis Smith had a very good personal relationship with Stan Van Gundy in private, which also led to basically no conflict between the two at work.

In some construction opinions, Otis Smith will also adopt opinions from Stan Van Gundy.

This also led to many people in the management expressing their dissatisfaction, believing that the two of them join forces simply undermined the rights of half of the Magic Team's management.

Even in this situation, even the team's current operational president Kenqi felt deeply helpless.

And this is true. Otis Smith, who was later in life, eventually killed Kenchi, the operation president, and successfully put himself in two positions, and was in a mess with Stan Van Gundy...

Pooh!

They joined forces with Stan Van Gundy to control more than 70% of the Magic Management's right to speak, and successfully reached the peak of their lives.

However, the good times did not last long. Because Otis Smith and Van Gundy were too close, this also led to the Magic's management having to fire both sides in later generations.

Although the biggest reason is that the conflict between the two and Howard has reached an irreconcilable part.

Of course, the biggest contradiction comes from the two coaches Stan Van Gundy and Howard of Warcraft.

As for Otis Smith, it was because he stood behind Stan Van Gundy in any case and acted as his protective umbrella.

In the end, I had to follow the unlucky gentleman who was unlucky.

You should know how Howard said bluntly at the time of the contract:

"If these two people don't leave the team, then I will never sign a long-term contract with the Magic."

I believe that from this point we can see how close the relationship between Stan Van Gundy and Otis Smith is.

If you have to use a word from later generations to describe it, then I believe it is definitely "Lao Tie!!"

As for why Stan Van Gundy had such a big conflict with Howard, it was no longer a secret.

Because Howard's unmotivated personality on weekdays, his strict coaching style with Stan Van Gundy on the court is simply polarized.

This also leads to some inexplicable off-field spits between masters and apprentices.

But at the beginning, Stan Van Gundy was actually regressing. After all, in today's era, a league superstar is indeed more important than a head coach.

But as the Magic made a difference in the playoffs, even one step away from the championship, it also successfully inspired Stan Van Gundy's ambitions.

But why did Van Gundy have some ideas in his mind, but Howard seemed to not take his tricks at all. He still did his own thing on the court and played happy basketball.

The conflict between the two became deeper and deeper, and finally reached an irreconcilable point. Among them, Otis Smith, as the team's general manager, has always stood behind Stan Van Gundy to support him.

Of course, this is also the main reason why Stan Van Gundy and Otis Smith had to leave together...

Because after the team's CEO choice, they finally chose the younger Warcraft Howard.

But whether this decision is right or wrong, people can never say...

"I've really had enough of that guy Dwight. So many people in the team are training hard, but he's the only one who's still late every day."

"If the team had not had a good record so far, I would really not be able to resist a good confrontation with him!"

Looking at Stan Van Gundy who started to complain as soon as he entered the door, Otis Smith, who was his boss and old friend, also felt that he had some habits.

After all, he had heard these words too many times, and even his ears were almost grinding out of calluses.

"Haha, don't be impatient. The team's current record is still very good, so you can appropriately adapt to this."

"Although I have always supported you, you also know that if the team wants to win the championship, then the team's locker room should not be too complicated, otherwise it will be of no benefit to anyone."

After slowly standing up, Otis Smith also walked to the display counter behind him, and then took out two cigars from it.

While cutting a cigar, he smiled at Stan Van Gundy sitting on the sofa.

"Hey, it's because the team has a very good record this season and is very hopeful to win the championship trophy this season, so I didn't have a big fuss with him."

"Otherwise, with my personality, how could I have been in peace with him for so long?"

After hearing Stan Van Gundy's words, Otis Smith just smiled lightly. This time he did not follow up, but instead asked a different question:

"Why did you have time to sit here today? Usually, you don't want to come even if I invite you to come. I have been supervising training below. Those who don't know would think there are no trainers in our team."

"Also, your personality should really be changed. After all, whether it is you or me, our ultimate goal is to have only one, that is, the team's results."

"So I usually think you can take a break, because sometimes it's not a good thing to hold it too tightly."

After taking the cigar handed to him by Otis Smith, Stan Van Gundy just shook his head gently and did not make too many disputes on this matter.

Because his ability to be successful in his coaching career is also closely related to his serious personality.

It can be said that Stan Van Gundy's life is already half over. If you want to change some things, then you are really powerless.

"I must have something to do when I come to you today. After a while ago and the injury of Rashad, I also deeply realized that the team's current lineup still has many shortcomings."

"Although the team has such excellent record so far, we are at a disadvantage without any suspense when fighting those stronger teams."

"Actually, the team has been able to achieve this so far exceeding your expectations, but since we are so close to the championship, it is impossible not to make some changes."

"So I hope the team can make some reinforcements in the next step, and you can make a little noise recently to see if there are any big fish in the market."
To be continued...