Orlando Magic News for August 4th: Defense Dictates the Power Forward Rotation

Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy says Brandon Bass and Ryan Anderson will get more playing time this year, but they both must make strides defensively, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. Here's Van Gundy:

I think that our hope is and our expectation is that they’re both fairly young guys. Particularly on the defensive end, I think our expectations in terms of what they have to know are fairly high and that a second year will help them. Our expectation is that they both will be able to play better on that end of the floor. I hope we’ll see improvement.

Eddy asks us not to let Tracy McGrady's less-than-amiable parting of ways with the Magic cloud our judgment of his four-year tenure in blue. He "should be remembered as a legend," says Eddy.

Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel writes that the Miami Heat's power grab will draw plenty of media attention to South Beach, which means the Magic should try to get accustomed to being also-rans in Florida, as far as the media are concerned. "This is [Dwight] Howard's worst nightmare," he says.