• Why Adonal Foyle is the Orlando Magic's most important player - OrlandoSentinel.com

  With this profile of Orlando Magic center Adonal Foyle, Orlando Sentinel columnist George Diaz has just published one of my favorite Magic stories in recent memory. Foyle hasn't logged any minutes on the court this season, but as Diaz explains, that's beside the point.

  "He may not be the Most Valuable Player but he is the most important player we have on the roster," said Magic General Manager Otis Smith. "He's a veteran who can help young guys deal with the ins and outs of basketball as well as the game of life. Basketball is bigger than what we see for those 48 minutes."

  That's one of many memorable bits from the piece. Truly top-notch, and if you're a Magic fan, you should stop whatever you're doing and head over to that link. You'll be glad you did.

• Magic’s Marcin Gortat ready for a larger role as the postseason approaches - OrlandoSentinel.com

  Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel likens Marcin Gortat's role on the Magic to that of "a typical firefighter" because "they never know exactly when they'll be pressed into action.

  Gortat has played his best when Howard picked up two early fouls. When Gortat knows he'll play seven to 10 minutes in a row, he finds it easier to relax on the court, get into the rhythm of the game and just play.

  A recent stretch of solid play from Gortat has foregrounded how important he could be to the Magic's championship drive.

• The Magic have again honored Dwight Howard for his work in the community, as he won his fourth Rich & Helen DeVos Community Enrichment Award last night, per a team press release. Here are but 3 examples of his engagement with, and commitment to, his community:

  • Donated $30,000 to Florida Hospital for Children to help bring advancements to the children’s hospital through the Dwight Howard’s Big Change for Kids program.

  • Donated $25,000 for a learning center at BETA, which provides middle and high school academic training to teen moms through Orange County Public Schools’ Alternative Education Program.

  • Participated in the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program in South Africa. The program focuses on education, grassroots basketball development and HIV/AIDS education and advocacy.

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Brian Schmitz brings us up to speed on injuries to Orlando Magic small forwards Mickael Pietrus and Matt Barnes:

Barnes already has missed one game, and now he realizes he'll need to play even more minutes with his back-up, Mickael Pietrus, likely out for a week because of a sprained ankle.

"That's a big factor for me with MP out," Barnes said after the Magic's overtime win Thursday night in Miami against the Heat, which followed up their victory Wednesday against San Antonio.

Coach Stan Van Gundy called Barnes' situation "a problem for us" before the game.

Barnes has dealt with the toe problem since undergoing surgery when he played at UCLA. He arrived early for the game against the Heat at American Airlines Arena to warm up.

The Magic had pretty decent luck with regard to injuries lately, but having both small forwards hobbled as the team heads into the playoffs is a bit of a buzzkill. Pietrus and Barnes are never more than the fourth option on offense, but are the team's best perimeter defenders. They've both suffered injuries that could compromise their lateral mobility if they don't heal quickly enough.

With Pietrus out, expect Rashard Lewis and Vince Carter to spend more time at small forward. And, uh, expect a drop-off in defense at that position. Pietrus is one of the league's best there.

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• Orlando Magic BasketBlog – Van Gundy: Refs "looking" to T up Dwight Howard

  Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports that Magic coach Stan Van Gundy believes NBA referees are looking for excuses to ring Dwight Howard up with technical fouls. In expressing that opinion, Schmitz says, Van Gundy's put himself at risk of incurring a league fine. With one more technical this season, Howard will draw a one-game suspension.

• NBA Playbook – The Threat Of Dwight Howard

  Sebastian Pruiti explains how Howard's presence in the lane helped Rashard Lewis make the clinching three-pointer for Orlando last night against the Heat.

• Marc Stein's Weekend Dime: NBA Jam - ESPN

  Marc Stein of ESPN.com explains his rationale for leaving Lewis off the Magic's three-man roster in the upcoming NBA Jam video game.

  With the way Lewis has been slumping, by contrast, I don't foresee much resistance if any to our preference for Jameer [Nelson] over Rashard to complete Orlando's trio with Dwight [Howard] and Vince [Carter]. Agreed?

Jesse D. Garrabrant - NBAE/Getty Images

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• The Orlando Magic are still championship-worthy - Ball Don't Lie

  Kelly Dwyer argues rather extensively that the Orlando Magic are "not some team that lucked into a fourth-round finish last year," but are serious championship contenders. But Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis must be difference-makers for Orlando to succeed.

  Nelson has to come through. Name Andrew Bynum, name Shaquille O'Neal (or any Cavalier beyond LeBron James, really), name Rajon Rondo, name them all. Nelson's more important. If he plays at a high level, the Magic aren't to be beaten. Because you can trust that [Dwight] Howard will do his thing and [Vince] Carter will contribute. Even on a 3-12 night from Rashard Lewis, if Jameer Nelson is on, the Magic are going to beat you.

• NBA.com: Hawks hit the boards, but suffer getting back in time

  John Schuhmann of NBA.com devises a method to evaluate transition defense and discovers that Orlando tops the league in that category. Clearly, coach Stan Van Gundy's strategy of not crashing the offensive boards is working.

• Orlando Magic BasketBlog – Matt Barnes continues to get treatment on his sprained left big toe

  Magic forward Matt Barnes is nursing a sprained big toe and had to spend much of last night chasing Spurs guard Manu Ginobili around. Tonight, he's tasked with guarding Miami's Dwyane Wade. Here's how Barnes is feeling, as reported by Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.

  "I’m just a little sore, but I’m fine," Barnes said after the game. "It feels good to be back out there. I was probably a step slow tonight, and Ginobili was hitting tough shots. I felt I was a step slow, but I’m going to continue to get treatment, rest it and got another one tomorrow."

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Per an Orlando Magic news release distributed earlier today, the team has clinched a playoff spot for the fourth consecutive year. The Magic needed any of the following outcomes tonight to happen in order to clinch:

1. Charlotte loses to Indiana
2. Miami loses to San Antonio
3. Chicago loses to Memphis

The Pacers just upset the Bobcats, 99-94, to formally clinch a playoff spot for Orlando and to make the results of those other games irrelevant to them.

Of course, when the season began, anyone would have told you Orlando would make the playoffs, as a defending conference champion what did not totally tear down its roster, so this news isn't exactly surprising.

UPDATE: John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com has details on how to obtain playoff tickets:

Magic season ticket holders will be given first priority at tickets for the playoffs. Fans can still become season ticket holders by calling 407-89-MAGIC. Single-game tickets for the playoffs will begin being sold in a couple of weeks.

The focus of Denton's write-up, though, is Orlando gearing up for another championship run; it is more than just ticket information, in other words. Strongly recommended, as is everything he writes.

Orlando Pinstriped Post Photo / Bruce Maddox

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• Rashard Lewis is key to Orlando Magic's NBA title hopes - Britt Robson

  Britt Robson of Sports Illustrated interviewed Orlando Magic GM Otis Smith for this piece about how important Rashard Lewis, who's struggled lately, is to the team.

  "I contend that his personality is as important as his shooting for this team," Smith said. "Having Dwight [Howard] and Vince [Carter] and Jameer [Nelson], it is hard for everyone to get all the hype, but he's been below the radar his entire career. He just goes about his business and at the end of the game you look up and he's got 18 and six or 18 and nine. Dwight is our franchise player. Your best player has to understand he is your best player, and your role players have to understand they are your role players."

• Orlando Magic BasketBlog – Matt Barnes sits out contact drills in practice, plans to play against Spurs

  Tania Ganguli of the Orlando Sentinel reports that Magic forward Matt Barnes will return to the lineup tomorrow night against San Antonio after missing Sunday's game versus Charlotte with a sprained big toe. Barnes went through practice today, but sat on the sidelines during the contact drills "so as not to bang up the toe."

• New Orlando Magic arena: New digs will get nothing but the best in interior furnishings - OrlandoSentinel.com

  Mark Schlueb of the Orlando Sentinel lists some of what taxpayer dollars helped buy for the Magic's new arena, Amway Center. It includes a $10,000 conference table and an $87,600 Zamboni. (Hat tip: malars)

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• NBA.com: Magic's Carter finding groove after rough start to 2010

  David Aldridge writes about Vince Carter's rapid improvement after a horrid January this year, and asks coach Stan Van Gundy how he turned his season around.

  "I really can't answer that," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "He's really playing well now, very efficiently. He had some injury stuff early, both his legs and his shoulder. I think he feels better. He seems very comfortable playing with everyone else. He's shooting the ball well. Everything's gone well for him. He keeps playing like that, obviously, we're pretty good."

• 4. Taking Care Of The Rock - Daily Dime - ESPN

  The Elias Sports Bureau passes along this disheartening, albeit probably meaningless, note about Dwight Howard's free-throw shooting.

  Dwight Howard scored 27 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, but his 3-for-10 foul shooting might have cost the Magic a victory in their 96-89 loss to the Bobcats on Sunday. It was the sixth time this season that Howard's missed free throws accounted for the margin of defeat for Orlando. That ties breaks a tie with Brook Lopez for the league lead in this category-without-a-name.

• Don't boo, Portland -- be thankful - ProBasketballTalk

  Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk says the Portland Trail Blazers lucked out when Magic free-agent forward Hedo Turkoglu jilted them after verbally committing to sign there to instead take the Toronto Raptors' offer.

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This post is sponsored by T-Mobile.

The Orlando Magic improved to 47-21 last week after going 3-1, due in large part to Dwight Howard's stellar play at both ends of the floor. He's our T-Mobile Player of the Week yet again.

Dwight Howard	Pts	Rebs	Ast	Stl	Blk
	22.3	13.0	2.8	0.5	2.0
	FG%		3FG%		FT%
	80.0		0.0		58.6
	eFG%				TS%
	80.0				77.0

Howard led the Magic in scoring and rebounding three times and shot an incredible 80% from the field. His averages would have improved were it not for the Magic's blowout win over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night, in which his services were required for just 20 minutes.

Howard's excellent week overshadowed another strong performance from Vince Carter, who provided efficient offense (19.3 points, 65.6% True Shooting, just 2 turnovers in 131 minutes) from the perimeter when the Magic needed it, with Rashard Lewis struggling to get involved and Jameer Nelson becoming more of a distributor.

Finally, he surpassed Tracy McGrady for 2nd place on the Magic's all-time scoring list yesterday in defeat. He can realistically overtake Nick Anderson for the top spot two seasons from now, provided he averages 20 points per game and does not miss many games.