Dwight Howard: Superstar's Performance Against Knicks a Sign Change Is Needed

All Dwight Howard had to do was go out and have a great game against the New York Knicks on Thursday night. If he had done that, the tremendously awkward situation that unfolded earlier in the day could have been easily brushed aside.

Yeah...that didn't happen. Not even close.

Just a few short hours after he embarrassed himself in front of a small army of reporters, Howard embarrassed himself in front of thousands of people at the Amway Center. He went scoreless in the first half, and he ended up contributing just eight points and eight rebounds in a game his Orlando Magic lost, 96-80.

Since Howard isn't usually this bad, it stands to reason he was distracted. And indeed, he certainly had a reason to be distracted.

Maybe you need a little background. Earlier in the day, Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy admitted to reporters that he had been told that Howard had requested that he be fired. A few minutes later, Howard materialized and said he made no such request. He basically stood up in front of a bunch of intelligent people, lied directly to their faces and then treated them like villainous idiots.

Here's the video, which contains some slightly NSFW language:

You can see the above link for the full story, and I also recommend checking out the report on the situation penned by Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.

There's no point in sugarcoating anything. Things are pretty bad in Orlando right now. The Magic have lost five games in a row, Howard is doing his two-faced act again, and Van Gundy is trying to do the job that his star player doesn't want him to do. All of this is happening with the start of the playoffs just a couple of weeks away.

Bad. Really bad.

Something has to be done in Orlando. The situation has become toxic, and inaction is not going to make things any better. A change must be made.

And of course, there's really only one change the Magic can make at this juncture. All they can do is honor Howard's wish by firing Van Gundy.

I don't like it any more than you do. Howard is the epitome of a selfish, whiny, superstar athlete, and it sucks when guys like him get what they want. 

But alas, the Magic aren't going to do anything this season unless Howard is focused and ready to dominate out on the court. Judging from what we saw on Thursday night, Howard is going to have a very hard time being focused and ready to dominate as long as he is distracted by the team's head-coaching situation. Since the Magic can't fire Howard, and because Howard is the linchpin to the team's success, the Magic have to side with him.

It's not all about the short term. On the contrary, firing Van Gundy has more to do with the long term than anything else. David Pingalore of WKMG has reported that Howard won't sign an extension unless Van Gundy is gone, and his coaching staff will have to go, too.

The Magic can't afford to call Howard's bluff. He wants the Magic to be his team, and the Magic have made it pretty clear that they want the team to belong to him. If that means getting rid of Van Gundy, then so be it. 

I've said it before, and I'll say it again; I don't like it. That's just not how things are supposed to be.

But the question is clear. Do the Magic want this to be Van Gundy's team, or do they want this to be Howard's team? They clearly can't have both of them.

It's an easy call. The Magic are Howard's team, and firing Van Gundy is the only way the organization can assure that the Magic will stay Howard's team.