Stuck between a rock and a hard place

You hear this argument more with football teams. Should we rest our starters or keep them fresh and focused for the postseason?

It ultimately boils down to the on-off switch argument and the decision is largely based on the type of team you have.

For that reason, you cannot envy the position Stan Van Gundy is in. His Magic have been one of the top offensive and defensive teams in the league all season. His key players have stayed relatively healthy and they have (early) postseason experience.

Until the last two weeks.

Ever since Orlando traveled to Miami and topped the Heat on Alonzo Mourning night, Van Gundy has seen quite a different team. He has seen a team content to turn the switch off for 36 minutes and on for 12. On some nights it worked. But lately, the team has gone into full panic mode as that method of play is not working and the effort and focus has waned.

It is tough to keep your focus for 82 games in a season. It is a long time. And the Magic have certainly proved everything they need to prove -- especially now that they are locked into the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.

It seems Van Gundy's clear decision is to rest his starters, like he has done with Rashard Lewis and should be doing after Hedo Turkoglu's injury scare, and prepare for the postseason behind the closed doors of practice.

But these last seven or eight games have been concerning. The team has completely lost its focus and even Dwight Howard, who tells himself to dominate before every game, cannot seem to get motivated.

There is certainly no worry that the Magic will get a wake-up call come Saturday or Sunday's first round game. This is a team that has been able to focus when needed -- see the Cavaliers and Hawks wins on back-to-back nights during this recent malaise.

But is Orlando the type of team that can coast its way into the playoffs. Van Gundy certainly is not the coach that would like to see his team to do that. And fans would love to see their team performing at its best entering the postseason.

The answer to this difficult question for the Magic might be found in its leaders. When push comes to shove, this is a veteran team laden with playoff experience. Howard will not let his team lose focus entering the playoffs (that is, after Wednesday's regular season finale). Lewis and Turkoglu have been to numerous playoffs, they know what it is about.

Van Gundy is making the right decision in making sure his players get some rest and get healthy. He plays them heavy minutes and they deserve the rest and will need it entering the grueling postseason.

Plenty of higher seeded teams have limped into the postseaosn against hotter, lower-ranked opponents. And plenty, if not most, of those higher seeded teams have easily won their first round matchup (that is why they are best out of seven now, right?).

It would be nice to see the team playing better and it seems like the team gets it needs to take these games a little more seriously. But ultimately, their eyes on a bigger goal.