Jameer sidelined with meniscus tear

So, remember when Orlando had every single one of their players healthy this season? Yes, I know October seems like a long time ago now, but those were simpler days.

Now, the Magic's road back to the NBA Finals hit another pothole. Feels like we are driving in and around Yeehaw Junction right now. Either way, this team has more adversity to face as Jameer Nelson will miss the next four-to-six weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus.

Jameer has been one of the Magic's more consistent players offensively this year, averaging 13.7 points and 5.5 assists. His defense has been a little suspect, after giving up another big game to an opposing point guard last night against Charlotte, but it is still abundantly clear he was the man at point guard.

At least this injury might explain some of the problems he has had keeping guys out of the lane all season.

So now at the time when orlando thought it would have all its pieces finally assembled on the floor, a good chunk is knocked out again. And even though Nelson has struggled at times this year, his aggression and shooting ability is a weapon the Magic will miss in the pick and roll.

More will fall on the shoulders of Jason Williams now. Williams has played well, dishing out 4.0 assists per game in 18.4 minutes per game. He has shown he can play a solid role off the bench, but can he start?

This is not in any way like Orlando bringing in Rafer Alston from last year. Alston was a proven starter who could run an offense and defend well. Williams is coming off a year away from basketball and has never been known as a good defender. Williams has done decently defensively this year (48.2% effective field goal percentage allowed), but that is against bench guys.

So... confidence level in Williams starting is OK. He is a little more prone to take risks than Nelson is (although his turnovers are only 0.82 per game compared to Nelson's 2.45).

Orlando has prepared for this contingency all year in bringing Williams in. And the team maintained Anthony Johnson because he is a solid, if unspectacular backup. The team is still in an interesting place as this injury occurs.

It certainly is better that Nelson gets this surgery done during this part of the season rather than later when he might miss the playoffs.

As the Magic learned last year, I believe, getting in and getting a high seed are important. But once you are in the postseason and have a chance to win, anything can happen.

This is a big hit. I personally have not been feeling good at where the Magic are and I am more likely to believe the Hawks' 9-2 record is more real than the Magic's 8-3 record is at the moment. It would not surprise me to see Orlando fade a little bit.

But the Magic do have the pieces to overcome this injury too. Expect Vince Carter to run a little more pick and rolls with Howard instead of the usual Nelson-Howard combo. More than anything Carter is going to have to step up more and carry more of the scoring load. And Howard, of course, has to stay involved in the game and keep out of foul trouble.

The margin for error closes ever tightly for the Magic with a big slate of games schedule for the next week.

Orlando has shown it can tread water -- an unimpressive 8-3 being treading water in this case -- until guys get back. The main worry is how well Atlanta is playing and the big back-to-back next week with the Hawks and the red-hot Heat.