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Keeping it real and honest!!!

Saturday, November 21st, 2009

Heyyyyy world!!! Ya’ll watch us get a big win in Boston against the Celtics on ESPN? Hope you did because we played like champions, really working on defense and making clutch plays when we had to. It was kind of an ugly game, but all that really matter is getting that W.

A lot was made the last couple of days about the talk me and Coach Van Gundy had. He came to me and asked why I thought we were struggling with our energy and lacking some enthusiasm. I tried to keep it real and be as honest as I could. I just told him it was tough dealing with the expectations and all the injuries that we’ve had with him being so negative to us all the time.

He asked me what my opinion was and it wasn’t like I went in there complaining to him. I know that coach wants the nothing but the best for us, but he does kind of bash us at times and it hurts the team, I think.

Stan is a great guy and he’s going to continue to stay on us and I don’t want him to stop that. I just told him that as a team we have a lot of new guys who aren’t used to the way that he coaches and sometimes it’s just a matter of how you deal with them. I can take somebody talking bad to me and him yelling at me or whatever, but you have to deal with certain people different ways. Some of the new guys just aren’t used to having a coach as active as Stan.

I think us talking like that was the best way to handle it. Me being the leader of the team and being able to talk to coach and talk to the team, it was really good. We’re like a family and we’re going to have problems but if we continue to grow we should be great going to the end of the season.

Me and coach have always had a great relationship. No matter if we were fighting with one another we could always come back and talk to one another. That’s what it’s supposed to be like. We’ve grown over the years and it’s only continued to get better. Like I told Stan the first time he got here: I’ll always be his soldier and whatever he needs me to do or wants me to do I’ll do it.

Glad I could explain to ya’ll my side of things. Hit me back with some feedback and let me know whatcha think. Cause I think it was a good step in the right direction for us as a team. And we did play better against Boston, so maybe it did help.

—D-12

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Ya’ll remember my triple-dub???

Saturday, November 7th, 2009

Heyyyyyy World!!!! What up??? We’re in OKC, getting ready to play those young guns with the Thunder. I had one of the best games of my life in OKC last year, getting my first triple-dub with 10 blocks, so maybe I can do it again on Sunday.

Our coach kind of let us have it after we beat Detroit on Friday, and I guess we deserved it because we didn’t play as good a defense as we should. We know that we can score with any team in the league, but what is going to help us get back to the finals and win a championship is our defense. We’ve got to make a better effort on defense every night and not let up.

Right now, we’re just fouling way too much. We’ve got to learn to move our feet better, stop fouling and find a way to stay on the floor.

Coach Van Gundy is right that we have to try and be great every night. We can’t get content with just winning if we’re not out there playing Magic basketball. And that means being physical and playing tough, hard-nosed defense.

I knew we’d bounce back against Detroit because we were so upset they beat us up there earlier in the week. We were in the locker room up there in Detroit the other night talking about how we’d play the Pistons differently next time around. Now, we’ve got to go back up there later in the season and win in Detroit. They’ve beaten us a lot and we’ve got to beat them up there.

I played better the other night because I was more patient. I let the double-team come to me and then I made the right play. That’s how I have to approach it … let the defense make their move and then go to work.

It’s cool being back in OKC. It reminded me of that game here last year. That’s my only triple-double ever. When the media asked me about that game the other night I told them I had forgotten it, but I was lying ya’ll. That was one of my favorite games ever. Now, we gotta go do it again on Sunday.

Well, I’m outta here. Ya’ll root us on against the Thunder ‘case those young cats for the Thunder will be ready to play. We just have to play Magic basketball and we’ll be fine.

—D-12

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Preseason is finally over!

Saturday, October 24th, 2009

Hey world!!! Finally, preseason is over and now the games start counting for real. We’re so ready for that. We were the only team in the NBA to go undefeated in the preseason, but they don’t give out any championships for that. It’s nice, but we want bigger things than that.

It’s just the preseason, but I already see how teams are going to play me this season. Against Indy the other night, they kept running two and three guys at me and fouling me every time that I got deep position. They aren’t going to let me dunk the ball.

It’s tough, because you’ve got people hanging on you, pulling at you, slapping at you, whatever, the whole game. You try to stay calm, but sometimes you just want to react. But you’ve got to do what’s best for the team.

I think I’ve just got to play through it. Coach Van Gundy, he allows guys to do the same thing in practice, so I’ve just got to get used to it.

Of course, one way to keep them from fouling me so much is doing a better job of hitting my free throws. Trust me ya’ll, I’m working hard on it. It’s the one thing I put the most work into this summer, hitting 500 a day.

I made seven out of 10 from the line Friday night when we beat the Hawks, so I know I can make them. The key for me is to just keep my confidence up and not think so much. I’m trying to keep a clear mind at the line.

And maybe if I start making a bunch of free throws, they will stop hacking me so much.

Ya’ll be good and we’ll see you Wednesday night for the season-open against Philly. They gave us fits last year in the playoffs, so we’ll have to be ready for the Sixers.

L8.

—D-12

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NOW THAT’S MY MAGIC!!!!!

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

Now, that’s the Magic team that we expected to look like at the start of the NBA Finals. We were patient, we were confident and we played with a swagger again. Maybe it was just being back at home or maybe it just took us a while to get used to being in The Finals, but we played like we were supposed to play.

I told ya’ll from the start that this is a seven-game series and we’re not done until the Lakers beat us four times. We still aren’t being given much of a chance to win, but maybe this win will open some eyes of the folks out there around the country. Maybe this will let them know the Magic are for real and we ain’t no pushovers.

As for my play personally, I thought I was more patient in the post and let the defense dictate what I did with the ball. When the double came I accepted it and made the right pass. When it didn’t come, I tried to be really aggressive and go right at Gasol and Bynum.

Me, Stan and Pat Ewing watched a lot of film on Monday on our day off and it really helped me see what was going on with the defense. I give the Lakers credit because they have done a good job sitting in my lap and taking away some of my moves. They are cutting me off to the middle and sending a second man when I come back baseline. So I tried to learn from that and make myself more efficient.

That’s the word – efficient – that I’m always hearing from Stan. I think I was pretty efficient in Game 3. I cut my turnovers down to one, I missed just one shot and I made most of my free throws.

And when guys like Skip, ‘Shard and MP make shots like they did, that just opens up even more things inside for me. We shot the ball like this and play this hard in Game 4 on Thursday and I think we’ll have us another win.

We really, really believe we’re still going to do this. I liked coming home for three games in a row and we felt like we could get all three of them. It’s one game at a time of course, but we haven’t lost any confidence that we can beat the Lakers.

Thank ya’ll for being so loud last night, but we need it even more hype come Thursday. We can do this – believe that!!!!

I’m out. Holler back at ya. — DWIGHT

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ME AND THE TROPHY

Thursday, June 4th, 2009

Ya’ll will get to see my new commercial tonight during the game. ABC took some pictures of us with the NBA championship trophy the other day to run during the games, but if you look really close you will notice that I don’t touch it.

They had seven us take the pictures (Rafer, Turk, C-Lee, Shard, AJ, MP and me) with the trophy and some of my guys were holding it and rubbing it. But I’m not touching the trophy until we win it all and that baby re ally is mine. Then it’s on, and I’ll be kissing it and hugging it and everything.

We got the silver ball last Saturday night and it was nice, but I gotta tell you that gold one is beautiful. I want one of those so bad now.

We’re glad that game night is finally here. It’s been good to get some rest these last few days, but it actually seems like two weeks since we beat Cleveland. I think guys are focused and ready to go. We know what we have to do.

Yesterday’s practice was kinda crazy because cameras were popping and reporters were lined up around the court. I think some of our guys got to see how the Finals are different with more eyes looking at us. To me, it reminded me of the all-star games and even the Olympics from this past summer. You’re constantly getting pulled around with so much stuff to do.

I think we’ll adjust to all of this stuff pretty quick. Everybody who has been following the Magic knows that we’re a loose bunch. That’s why we’ve been so good on the road the last couple of years. That why we could go to Philly, Boston and Cleveland and win on the road in the playoffs.

We just know if we play our game by running, playing defense and rebounding we can beat anybody and win anywhere. That shouldn’t be any different tonight in L.A. We’ve won here the last two years, and we know we can do it again.

OK, ya’ll cheer us on tonight because we need the support from everywhere. That love I felt in Games 6 against Cleveland was the happiest I’ve been in a long time. We need to keep it going and get a W tonight and start these Finals off the right way.

– D-12

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