The Orlando Magic are going to be without 29-year old point guard Jameer Nelson for at least the next week due to a concussion.  Nelson has played in 18 games (all starts) so far this year for the Magic and he is averaging 28.8 minutes, 8.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game on only 38.7% shooting from the floor.  He will be replaced in the starting lineup by 29-year old Chris Duhon.  Duhon has played in 20 games (2 starts) for the Magic so far this year and he is averaging 19.5 minutes, 3.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.  Duhon is hitting 46.7% from three point range (14 of 30) so far this year and that is outstanding.  Duhon might be able to do a decent job while Nelson is out of action.

SG Jason Richardson, SF Hedo Turkoglu and PF Brandon Bass aren’t helping the Magic at all so far in this series.  Richardson has played in 2 games (both starts) for the Magic so far in this series and he is averaging 35.0 minutes, 6.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game.  He is only shooting 25% (5 for 20) from the floor in this series and that’s just not going to get it done.  Hedo Turkoglu has played in 2 games (both starts) for the Magic so far against the Hawks and he is averaging 39.0 minutes, 8.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game.  Turkoglu is only shooting 6 for 25 (24%) in this series and that’s pathetic.  Brandon Bass has played in 2 games (both starts) for the Magic in this series and he is averaging 19.0 minutes, 4.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game.  He is only shooting 2 for 10 (20%) from the floor in this series.  The Magic can’t beat the Hawks with only Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson producing, so Richardson, Turkoglu and Bass need to step up their game soon.

29-year old shooting guard Gilbert Arenas finally played a good game for the Magic last night.  He played 45 minutes last night and he finished up with 25 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals as he was 6 of 11 from three point range!  Arenas has now played in 48 games (2 starts) since coming over to the Magic and he is averaging 21.8 minutes, 8.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game only only 34.6% shooting from three point range.  It was smart of Stan Van Gundy to get Agent Zero out of mothballs because he’s going to need all hands on the deck when the playoffs start.

The Magic were expecting an offensive jolt out of Gilbert Arenas, Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu but it just hasn’t worked out so far.  30-year old Jason Richardson has played in 21 games (all starts) for the Magic this year and he is averaging 34.5 minutes, 14.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.  The Magic were expecting Richardson to score around 20 points per game for them but he’s not even playing as well as Vince Carter was before the deal.  31-year old Hedo Turkoglu has been better than Richardson but he hasn’t been better than Rashard Lewis.  Turkoglu has played in 21 games (all starts) this time around for the Magic and he is averaging 34.4 minutes, 11.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  The Magic need Richardson and Turkoglu to start shooting more.  29-year old guard Gilbert Arenas has been a bust so far for the Magic.  He has played in 21 games (0 starts) for the Magic since coming over from the Wizards and he is averaging 21.8 minutes, 8.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.  Agent Zero is only hitting 36.7% of his shots from the floor and 30.3% from three point range since coming over to the Magic.  The Magic really need Arenas to step up and play like he can.  23-year old power forward Earl Clark hasn’t gotten much of a chance to show what he can do quite yet.  He has played in 9 games (0 starts) since coming over to the Magic and he is averaging 8.1 minutes, 3.3 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.  Hindsight is always 20/20, but I think the Magic would have been better off not to make those deals with the Wizards & Suns.

The Magic need 31-year  old “power” forward Rashard Lewis to start getting tougher.  Lewis has played in 19 games (all starts) for the Magic this season and he is averaging 31.5 minutes, 12.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.  Lewis is only shooting 43.1% from the floor but a solid 40.2% from three point range.  The Magic need Lewis to help more on the basket especially on the defensive end, because if he doesn’t, he could start losing P.T. to Brandon Bass.  The 25-year old Brandon Bass has played in 19 games (0 starts) for the Magic so far this year and he is averaging 21.3 minutes, 10.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.  Bass is also hitting 55% of his shots from the floor so far this year.  Bass is a legit power forward as he likes to mix it up under the basket.

Rashard Lewis has pretty much disappeared for the Orlando Magic in the first two games against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals and it is a big reason why the Magic have found themselves down 0-2 in the series.  Lewis, who is the highest paid player on the Magic and one of the highest paid players in the entire league, only has 11 total points through the first two games.  Lewis isn’t doing much of anything for the Magic despite playing about 42 minutes per game so far in the series.  In the two games he has averaged just 5.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3 assists.  There have been times were Glenn “Big Baby” Davis has been switched on to Lewis defensively, and Lewis has not taken advantage.  There is no way “Big Baby” Davis can guard Lewis, so I’m not sure why he didn’t demand the ball in those situations.  Also, Lewis has lacked an intensity that is needed in the playoffs.  When he is not getting the shots he wants, or his shots aren’t falling, his body language shows it and he carries that attitude to the defensive end.  Even if Lewis doesn’t start to score the ball more, he still can contribute by attacking the boards and giving the Magic everything he has on defense.  Lewis has yet to do any of that, and if he isn’t giving the Magic 15-20 points than he needs to contribute in other ways.  If he continues to play like he has in the first two games coach Van Gundy needs to think about giving Pietrus and Barnes more minutes.

Starting “power” forward Rashard Lewis just isn’t playing up to his ability this season. Lewis has played in 67 games (all starts) for the Magic this season and he is averaging 33.3 minutes, 14.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game. If the Magic are going to make a serious run for the NBA Title this season they are going to need Lewis to pick up the pace from here on out.

Brandon Bass has been vocal about his displeasure with his playing time with the Magic. With that in mind the Magic might try to move Bass by next week’s trading deadline. They don’t have to trade Bass so it wouldn’t be smart to move him unless the Magic make themselves a better team and I just don’t see them getting that kind of value for him. Bass has played in 29 games (3 starts) for the Magic this season and he is averaging 13.2 minutes, 5.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game on 52.5% shooting from the floor.

The Magic really need Jameer Nelson to pick it up. He has played in 24 games (23 starts) for the Magic so far this season and he is averaging 28.2 minutes, 11.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. The Magic need Nelson to get his shot back because it helps make the opposing teams start to extend the defense opening up the paint for the Magic’s talented front-line.

Back-up center Marcin Gortat was excellent in the playoffs last season and he figured he would cash in and get a starting job at the same time last summer as a restricted free agent. The Mavericks offered him a very nice contract with the idea of making him their starting center but the Magic matched it surprisingly and he was not happy then. He really must be fuming now because of his lack of playing time this year. Gortat has played in 32 games (0 starts) for the Magic this season and he is averaging 13.2 minutes, 3.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. The Magic might be interested in trading him at the deadline if they have any needs to fill but the team doesn’t appear to have many weaknesses right now. That means Gortat might have to grin and bear it the rest of the year.