By virtue of the Atlanta Hawks' 109-100 loss to the Charlotte Bobcats last night, the Orlando Magic wrapped up their third consecutive Southeast Division title. That's the longest division title streak in franchise history, writes John Denton, who notes that the Magic won consecutive Atlantic Division titles in 1994/95 and 1995/96.
With the team essentially locked in to the East's second playoff seed and nothing left to play for but pride, it'd be easy for the Magic to relax before the postseason begins next Saturday or Sunday. But coach Stan Van Gundy won't let that happen. From Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel:
Van Gundy reiterated that he has no plans to rest any players down the stretch. "All you've got to do is look at the minutes played in this league," he said. "We don't have a guy in the top 40. Our guys have not played huge minutes. There's not a need for that."
Van Gundy's championship-first philosophy here echoes that of GM Otis Smith. You'll recall that Smith didn't join the team he helped assemble on the floor last May when the Magic won their second-ever Eastern Conference Championship. "That's low-hanging fruit," he said at the time.