Item: After a 14-3 start, the Magic are 19-18 since and coach Stan Van Gundy went public with his desire to have emerging superstar Dwight Howard forget about scoring and concentrate on dominating the boards and blocking shots.
What this really means: It was really odd that Van Gundy would go public on Howard, but the 22-year-old center responded with 23 points, 24 rebounds and 2 blocks in a big win over Denver. Maybe he knows Howard is the kind of coachable young star who would respond to that kind of prodding. It was a gamble making that kind of pronouncement about such a young player.
And while Howard is the superstar, for them to really challenge in the East and not fade like they did last season, Rashard Lewis will have to start earning his money instead of deferring to underrated Hedo Turkoglu as the team's second star. But the guy to watch will be young point guard Jameer Nelson, who was sidelined with a strained tendon in his foot and has to provide some consistency at point guard. If not, it brings to mind the beginning of Turkoglu's career when the Kings considered him a prospect to play point guard ... the Magic could and have done worse.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/7814146#1
