Sure some players were crying about head coach Stan Van Gundy last season but they still played hard for him all year long. Van Gundy led the Magic to a 59-23 (72%) record during the regular season and then in the post season the Magic were 13-11 (54.2%). In two seasons with the Magic, Van Gundy has compiled a regular season record of 111-53 (67.7%) and a post season record of 18-16 (52.9%). Stan Van Gundy now has a career record in the NBA of 223-126 (63.9%) during the regular season and he is 35-27 (56.5%) in the post season. Van Gundy is the right guy to get the Magic to the NBA Finals and win it when he gets there. The question is: Will that be this season?

The scary thing about 23-year old Dwight Howard is that he just continues to get better. He played in 79 games for the Magic last season and he averaged 35.7 minutes, 20.6 points, 13.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 2.9 blocked shots per game. The sky is the limit for Howard as no one can keep him away from the basket. His only weakness on the basketball court is his free throw shooting (59.4%) but that is something he can improve with practice. If he can ever get over 70% shooting from the free throw line he will win a MVP Award. He’s so good though that he could win one while still bricking a lot of free throws. The Magic upset 25-year old Marcin Gortat when they matched a huge offer sheet from the Mavericks. He’s most upset about it because the Mavericks were going to make him their starting center. Gortat played in 63 games last season for the Magic and he averaged 12.6 minutes, 3.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Look for Gortat to also get some playing time at power forward this season as they need to get this guy on the floor more often. 34-year old Adonal Foyle will be the #3 center on the Magic this season. He played in 10 games for the Magic & Heat last year and he averaged 6.2 minutes, 1.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009-2010 FOR THE CENTERS: A++

30-year old Rashard Lewis will miss the first 10 games of the season due to a league suspension. The Magic will miss him while he is out. Lewis played in 79 games for the Magic last season and he averaged 36.2 minutes, 17.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 steal per game. The thing the Magic will miss the most in the first 10 games of the season is Lewis’ ability to drag the opposing power forward away from the basket because of his shooting ability. 24-year old Brandon Bass will likely be the starting power forward while Lewis is out of action. He played in 81 games for the Mavericks last season and he averaged 19.4 minutes, 8.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Bass is more of a banger under the basket than Lewis is. 21-year old Ryan Anderson will also get a bump in playing time while Lewis is out of action. He played in 66 games for the Nets last season and he averaged 19.9 minutes, 7.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE POWER FORWARDS IN 2009-2010: B+

27-year old Mickael Pietrus and 29-year old Matt Barnes will be sharing minutes at small forward this season. Pietrus will be the starter and he is a outstanding defensive player. He played in 54 games for the Magic last season and he averaged 24.6 minutes, 9.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Matt Barnes is more of an offensive player. He played in 77 games for the Suns last year and he averaged 27.0 minutes, 10.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. The Magic hope that Pietrus and Barnes can combine to give them 48 solid minutes per night at small forward.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SMALL FORWARDS IN 2009-2010: C

32-year old Vince Carter is supposed to replace the offense of the departed Hedo Turkoglu. He should be able to do that and maybe more as he gives the Magic a dynamic one-on-one player. He played in 80 games for the Nets last season and he averaged 36.8 minutes, 20.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.0 steal per game. 25-year old J.J. Reddick will back up Carter this season. He played in 64 games for the Magic last season and he averaged 17.4 minutes, 6.0 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Redick is one of the best shooters on the Magic but that’s his only real NBA skill. 24-year old former first round pick Morris Almond is also around to compete with Redick. He played in 25 games for the Jazz last season and he averaged 10.2 minutes, 3.7 rebounds, 1.4 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Almond had the reputation of a offensive player in college.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SHOOTING GUARDS IN 2009-2010: B