Bogans out 3-6 weeks

As far as injuries go, this one could have been a lot worse.

Guard Keith Bogans will miss at least the next three weeks and could be out 4-6 weeks after fracturing the thumb on his non-shooting hand during Saturday's game against Houston, Andrew Carter of The Orlando Sentinel reports.. Bogans has been the first man off the bench for Orlando this season and beat out JJ Redick and Courtney Lee for the backup shooting guard role. Bogans is averaging 6.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.

The Magic were pretty set at shooting guard with the signing of Mickael Pietrus, the drafting of Courtney Lee and the emergence of JJ Redick during the preseason. If someone was going to get hurt, it could be one of those four.

But don't think this injury is insignificant.

Orlando has been hit a little by the injury bug early this season. Pietrus has missed a game because of injury and Hedo Turkoglu sat out Saturday with the flu. Depth at guard has been important for the Magic's survival this season.

Losing Bogans is no death knell, but it does hurt the team. Pietrus is a good defender, but he has the propensity to foul. With Bogans out, Orlando no longer has its best perimeter defender to help out.

Redick is not the defender Bogans is and Lee has not had enough time on the court to prove he is there yet either.

It will be interesting to see what coach Stan Van Gundy does with his new lineup after the injury. Redick has been getting some favor and has thrown in a few good scoring runs. Lee though is probably closest to Bogans as far as copying his skill set defensively. I would expect both to play and get some time to show what they can do (it is a big opportunity for both players).

Van Gundy told The Orlando Sentinel that he might move Rashard Lewis to small forward more often, which could free up minutes for Marcin Gortat or Adonal Foyle, who put in his best game of the season Saturday.

Either way, this injury will have a big impact on the Magic before the All Star break -- and not just on the court.

With Bogans out, Redick can be played more and be floated out there as a trade possibility for a deadline deal. Not saying the team could get much for Redick, but it could be important to adding that vital piece for the playoff push.

Trade rumors have circled the shooting guard platoon all season. That should quiet until Bogans gets back.