This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It's already been well publicized that the Orlando Magic will be without Dwight Howard for the remainder of the season, as he was forced to have surgery on a balky back that refused to heal.
The Magic, however, will also be without Earl Clark tonight, who had carved out a role as Orlando's third big man and a nice, versatile option coming off the bench.
Without Clark, who has a sore knee, Daniel Orton will play big minutes, and rookie Justin Harper becomes the fourth big man.
"It's not about progression with Daniel," Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy said. "He has to play, period. He went from not playing to playing. He's got to play, and play well."
Offensively, the Magic can still score. They can still shoot, and without Howard, Van Gundy said, they are slowly develping an us-against-the-world mentality.
Defending Al Jefferson, and Paul Millsap, and Derrick Favors, and Enes Kanter? Well, that's another story all-together.
"It's a huge concern," Van Gundy said with a laugh. "We're much smaller than we normally are. We just have to hold up and do the best we can."
The Magic are without Hedo Turkoglu, who is on the inactive list, as well.
Tony Jones
On twitter: @tonyaggieville