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Thunder-Magic Preview

Nov 18, 2009 - 4:32 AM By DAN PIERINGER STATS Editor

Oklahoma City (5-5) at Orlando (8-3), 7:00 p.m. EDT

An active offseason seemed to put the Orlando Magic in prime position to repeat as Eastern Conference champions. Not being able to keep their key players on the court, however, could be a major obstacle.

With Jameer Nelson sidelined with a knee injury, the Magic look to overcome their latest absence and avenge their worst loss of the young season Wednesday night when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder.

After making the second trip to the NBA finals in franchise history in June, Orlando (8-3) made a blockbuster trade to bring in Vince Carter in the offseason. The Magic also got Ryan Anderson in that deal and signed Matt Barnes, Jason Williams and Brandon Bass to add depth to the team that lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in five games.

While that depth has helped early, the Magic could struggle to live up to long-term expectations if they can't keep their top players on the court. Rashard Lewis missed the first 10 games because of a league suspension, Carter and Anderson each missed four with ankle injuries, and Bass and Marcin Gortat have missed one apiece because of illnesses.

Nelson's absence could have an even bigger impact. Nelson, who is Orlando's top playmaker and one of its emotional leaders on and off the court, will have arthroscopic surgery Wednesday to repair torn cartilage in his left knee - an injury suffered in a 97-91 win over Charlotte on Monday.

He's expected to miss four to six weeks.

"I just informed Rashard about my knee a few minutes ago and he was just saying how we can't catch a break right now as a team," Nelson, a first-time All-Star last season, told the Magic's official Web site. "I just told him and the other guys that things like this happen and we'll weather the storm just fine."

Orlando has two veteran backup point guards in Williams and Anthony Johnson. Williams will start against the Thunder, and Nelson is confident both players will be able to contribute.

"Those two guys have been around a long time and know how to play this game," he said. "J-Will has won a championship and knows what he's doing, and A.J. has just what it takes to keep this team rolling."

Regardless of who starts, the Magic could have a tough time against the Thunder, who won the teams' first meeting 102-74 on Nov. 8. Kevin Durant had 28 points, and Russell Westbrook added 17 and 10 assists as Oklahoma City shot 57.1 percent from the field to snap a seven-game losing streak in the series.

Carter, Lewis and Anderson missed that game for the Magic.

The win over Orlando was the start of a 4-2 stretch for Oklahoma City (6-5), which continued its strong play with a 100-87 win over Miami on Tuesday. Durant had 32 points, nine rebounds and five assists, and Westbrook added 24 points and seven assists as the Thunder won their third straight on the road.

"We're getting better every game," Westbrook said.

Oklahoma City had 32 losses before it got its sixth win last season. It took the team just 11 games to reach six wins in 2009-10.

"We wanted to start off playing basketball that our fans could be proud of," coach Scott Brooks said. "We are creating an identity of playing winning basketball."

Oklahoma City has lost nine of 11 in Orlando, however, including five straight by an average of 13.6 points. Durant has averaged 13.0 points and shot 29.0 percent in two career road games against the Magic.