Projo Sports Blog

Regardless of what happens in Saturday's seventh game of the Celtics-Magic series, Stan Van Gundy's job as Orlando's head coach is safe. At least that's what Magic general manager Otis Smith has told the Orlando Sentinel.

Van Gundy has become one of the major subplots in the series, both because of his own candid comments and because he was criticized after game five by Dwight Howard, the star of his team. At least one ESPN analyst said Van Gundy's job could be in jeopardy.

While Smith backed his coach, he did not exactly give Van Gundy a vote of confidence.

``I don't understand why he wouldn't be," Smith responded when asked if Van Gundy's job as safe. "He's still the coach that he is. He still does a good job doing what he does."

Smith said he talked to Howard about his comments to the media and preferred he handled it internally.

"It's probably the way he did it more than anything else," Smith told the Sentinel. "My thing is we're all men. When you have an issue with another man, go talk to that man."

Smith said he was not "overly concerned" with the Howard-Van Gundy tiff.

Under Van Gundy, the Magic have won more than 50 games each of the last two years and have advanced to the second round of the playoffs.

 Tags  Boston Celtics Dwight Howard Orlando Magic Otis Smith Stan Van Gundy

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