GM Otis Smith to Dwight Howard: Quit Whining

Like everyone else on the planet, Otis Smith is tired of Dwight’s moaning about foul trouble, tells The Orlando Sentinel that he just wants him to play and figure things out on his own: “Q: He and Stan have talked about how he doesn’t get superstar calls. ‘A: So you want me to fall into that trap?’ Q: No, no, but the idea of a star call – ‘A: I don’t buy into the concept at all. Zero. I don’t buy into the concept at all. I think over the course of a 48 minute game, it all comes back around. Am I going to get some bad calls? Sure. Am I going to get some good ones? Sure. The people running around in the stripes are just like me. The more you yell at them, the worse they get. They’re just like you. If I yell at you every day, your work is probably not going to be A work. It’s probably going to be somewhere around D. I don’t put any leverage in star calls, non-star calls. I think you play the game. The game is physical and tough. You’re going to get some calls, you’re not going to get some calls. I know if you smile a little bit more and talk to them you may get one. I think our officials do a good job of refereeing our games this time of year and it’s a tough call. I don’t care who you are. It’s tough when all of a sudden possessions become slower, everybody’s got two feet in the paint and it’s hard to score. That’s what the playoffs are about. Welcome. Got another round of this, it’s going to be just the same. He just needs to be on the floor longer than 28 minutes. Period. That’s not on the officials, that’s not on Stan, that’s not on Marsh. That’s on Dwight. It’s tough. You’re a big guy, guess what? It’s tough. Sorry. Move on. Basically your team needs you on the floor longer than 28 minutes in order to be successful. Every round it’s gonna get tougher. We can get through the Charlotte Bobcats without him on the floor. We cannot get through whoever the next opponent’s gonna be without him on the floor. Bottom line.'”