Howard's health most important

Saturday's game against the Utah Jazz will mark history whether Orlando wins or loses at EnergySolutions Arena.

It will be the first game that Dwight Howard has missed in his young career.

Howard has been dealing with various injuries this season. He strained his oblique about a week ago that limited him in Tuesday's win against Portland. Howard left Friday's game in Phoenix in the third quarter with some discomfort in his right knee. He has said that he has had some problems with the knee since he was a child and he broke the leg.

The Orlando Sentinel's Brian Schmitz reports that Howard tried to warm up on it before the game, but he and trainer Tom Smith decided to play it safe.

When you are trying to defend and Southeast Division title and prove that you belong in the same breath as Boston and Cleveland (perceived to be the two top teams in the conference), playing it safe may not feel right. The Magic have a lot to prove and Howard is the centerpiece of that. You lose him, you lose some amount of fear, and maybe respect.

But there are many things to think about as Orlando makes its decision concerning Howard tonight and for Monday's game at Golden State.

The first is Howard's long-term health. Every person within the organization knew this day was coming. No one can stay healthy for all 82 games of an NBA season for an entire career. Especially when that player takes the physical beating Howard takes in the post.

Howard takes pride in his physical condition -- he shows it off enough. But every body breaks down and everyone gets hurt.

Fortunately, this injury does not appear to be major enough to keep him out a significant amount of time. But it is fair to be cautious. Orlando has long-term interests in Howard. If he suffers an injury that keeps him, the team loses.

This appears to be a nagging issue. But it appears being cautious is the right way to go. Howard has had his best season, and facing a little adversity can only make him, and the team, better.

The second thing this injury does is allow for the other players to gain some confidence without him (or maybe not).

We will learn a lot about Orlando's personnel without Howard. Can Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu continue to carry the offense? Is the Magic's defense really that good without Howard? It sure hasn't looked like it the past two games.

The Magic have a good team. But you learn a lot about the team without its superstar.

Orlando looked to respond without Howard in Phoenix and the team seems to be hanging around with a tough Utah team on the road (103-94 Magic won after they trailed by 10 at the half).

Either way, the Magic have to look out for their investment in the long term and make sure Howard doesn't permanently injur himself. Because losing this season would be bad. Losing next season and beyond would be much worse.