Solving the bench problem

A lot has been made of Orlando's bench this season.

It started with the surprise run of JJ Redick in the preseason and the perceived lack of depth behind Jameer Nelson. Then it exploded with the eight-man rotation Stan Van Gundy has used throughout the first week of the season.

Believe the writers when they make such a big deal out of this. A good bench is key to a good season.

A good bench gives the starters plenty of rest. A good bench lifts a team in the dredges of the season. A good bench is a tradeable asset.

A good bench, the Magic do not have.

The Redick experiment has completely failed. Keith Bogans has come off the bench and become a more consistent producer. Tony Battie does what Tony Battie does -- which is not much statistically.

Other than that, the bench is not very productive. This puts an incredible amount of pressure in the starters to score.

That clearly can work, but Dwight Howard is not going to score 29 and grab 16 every night and Hedo Turkoglu will not get 35 a night either. Then again, Rashard Lewis will not struggle like he did last night.

As it stands now, those three players are carrying the team -- like they did last year. And they need help and more than Mickael Pietrus and Jameer Nelson can give.

The Magic are going to get killed by opponents' benches. And it is going to reflect in scores pretty soon. We already saw it happen against Portland.

But the real effect will not happen until game 30, 50 and 80. Howard is a horse, but even a horse gets tired. Orlando has been incredibly lucky with injuries the last few years. That luck will run dry if Howard and Turkoglu have to continue to play 40 minutes per game.

The bench has to begin producing at a higher and more consistent rate. But Van Gundy also has to start playing more bench players.

The season is a marathon, not a sprint. But Orlando is running it like a sprint to the end. The starters need a break and the bench needs to step up for the Magic to make a run at the Eastern Conference title.