Orlando's Stan Van Gundy and Minnesota's Kevin Michael named NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month
NEW YORK, Feb. 2, 2009 – The Orlando Magic’s Stan Van Gundy and the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Kevin McHale today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in January.
Van Gundy guided the Magic to the best winning percentage for Eastern Conference teams in January (.769) by virtue of its 10-3 mark for the month. Orlando bested the Spurs, Lakers and Nuggets on the road as well as the Cavaliers at home. The victories in San Antonio and Los Angeles helped Orlando to record its first season-series sweeps in franchise history over those teams. Orlando outscored its January opponents by 10.2 ppg.
Orlando's Jameer Nelson set to Compete in Playstation® Skills Challenge New Jersey’s Harris, Orlando’s Nelson, San Antonio’s Parker and Chicago’s Rose to Vie for Title
NEW YORK, Feb. 2, 2009 – A new PlayStation® Skills Challenge champion will be crowned as the New Jersey Nets’ Devin Harris, the Orlando Magic’s Jameer Nelson, the San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker and the Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose will take the floor on Feb. 14, as part of NBA All-Star Saturday Night at US Airways Center in Phoenix.
The PlayStation® Skills Challenge was introduced at NBA All-Star 2003 in Atlanta and consists of four players competing in a two-round timed “obstacle course” consisting of dribbling, passing and shooting stations. All players must observe basic NBA ball-handling rules while completing the course. The two players with the fastest times from the first round advance to the finals with the order of competition determined by inverse order of the first round times. At the discretion of the referee, television instant replay may be consulted for clarification of rules compliance.