What has changed? Steve Francis was finally traded after months of confusion with the Magic organization. There was a lot to fix with the Magic, even with Francis, and now they will surely fall to one of the worst on the team.

In the beginning, the Magic had a decent strategy. By slowing down the game, they were able to compete for the playoffs for the first few months. The Magic were in the top five in points allowed as of Dec. 5. Since then, the defense has completely collapsed and allows 96.2 per game.

The team has its bright spots. Thanks to Dwight Howard, the Magic are in the top 10 in shooting%. Howard leads the league in rebounds and scores 15.6. With polishing he has all the potential to be the next Kevin Garnett. And thanks to players like Turkoglu and Garrity Orlando it’s a good 3P shooting team.

Like most teams, his success revolves around the PG. When Steve Francis scored just 9.7 in a 6-game span, the Magic lost all 6 games. With Francis as the PG, the offense was never properly organized and Orlando was 29th in APG. He committed the third-most turnovers in the NBA and his team was 24th in turnovers.

Orlando simply didn’t have the personnel to follow Brian Hill’s defensive style. They are 22nd in blocks, 27th in steals, 26th in forcing turnovers and 20th in rebounding. The only guys who average a complete steal per game for the Magic are Jameer Nelson and Grant Hill.

Which brings me wounds. Nelson and Dooling have combined to miss 47 games and Grant Hill has missed 38 games. Much of his success or lack thereof is due to Hill’s inability to stay on the court. You should be able to play most of the remaining 29 games, but at this point it doesn’t matter much.

Orlando started 18-22 but has lost 12 of their last 13. With an 8-game losing streak and 7 games between them and the Sixers, the Magic’s chances are slim to none. With the offseason, the best they can hope for is the development between Milicic, Ariza and Howard.