Magic coach Stan Van Gundy doesn't think the MVP race will be close this season.

James won the NBA's Most Valuable Player award last season.

"It's over," Van Gundy said. "LeBron's going to get the award."

Van Gundy did say, however, that guys like Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant should be in the conversation.

Magic coach Stan Van Gundy believes that center Dwight Howard should repeat as the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year.

Howard is leading the league in both rebounding and blocked shots for the second consecutive season.

"I don't know how he couldn't get it again," Van Gundy said. "When you're that dominate on the defensive boards, you're taking away second chances. You're leading the league in blocked shots. He defends his position well. He's a very good pick-and-roll defender.

"There's just not a lot of weaknesses with him on the defensive end of the floor. I would be disappointed and surprised ? assuming that the next 24 games continue the same trend ? if he were not Defensive Player of the Year again."

Brandon Roy referenced Portland's free agency of last summer when they thought they had Hedo Turkoglu in their grasps, only to see him end up in Toronto and eventually sign Andre Miller instead.

"Even though Andre may not have been the first choice, it has come down to him being the right choice," Blazers star Brandon Roy said. "The way he has been playing for us, he has been our most important guy because of how consistent he has been."

Said Miller: "I guess it has worked out for everybody."

Rashard Lewis isn't worried with facing the Cavaliers and new addition Antawn Jamison on Sunday.

?It doesn?t scare me,? Lewis told Orlando writers. ?I?ve been on All-Star teams as well as him. I think it?s going to come down to who executes better on the defensive end. (He?s) most definitely a great player.

?At the same time, one guy doesn?t win ballgames. They do have another guy called LeBron James which is going to be our focus.?

Magic forward Rashard Lewis is confident that the team will be a title contender this season.

With 28 games left before the playoffs, Orlando is unlikely to upend Cleveland for the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

"We can still win the NBA championship," Lewis said. "It's just getting the chemistry together. That's why you have the regular season. You get better during the season, get your chemistry together."

The Magic started the season 17-4, but they struggled before winning 10 of 13 games entering the All-Star break.

"This is our chance. This is the last 28 games and we need to make that push for playoff positioning," Vince Carter said. "We want to try to play our best basketball going right into the playoffs. This is the time."

Magic assistant coach Patrick Ewing is still itching for an opportunity to become a head coach in the NBA.

Ewing wasn't initially interested in coaching until he was brought in by Michael Jordan as an assistant in Washington back in 2003.

"No, I never thought I'd be interested in coaching. After I retired," Ewing said. "I thought I'd just be with my kids, helping them grow up.

"Then Michael brought me to Washington and I found that I enjoyed it. You think that these kids wouldn't listen to an old guy like me; they'd want to do it their own way. But then they see how you can help them. And that's the reward."

Ewing has six years of experience under his belt, but he's yet to so much as get an interview for a top position.

"I have my fingers crossed," he said. "Maybe one day I'll feel like it's just not going to happen, but right now, I enjoy this. I just need a chance."

Cavaliers center Shaquille O'Neal still hasn't dropped his resentment for Magic center Dwight Howard and their shared Superman nickname.

"You tell me who the real Superman is," O'Neal said after Cleveland defeated Orlando on Thursday night. "Don't compare me to nobody. I'd rather not be mentioned. I'm offended."

"It's not a big issue for me. He's going to say what he has to say," Howard said in response. "I don't have any personal problems against him. If he's mad about a nickname, a lot of people call themselves Superman, not just me and Shaq."

O'Neal got irritated with Howard over All-Star Weekend two years ago, when he donned a Superman cape while winning the Slam Dunk Contest.

"Well, I would say it doesn't feel good when a guy like Shaq is talking bad about you, about a nickname as simple as Superman," Howard said. "But there's nothing I can do about it. I'm not going to go back and forth with the issue."

Magic GM Otis Smith said Wednesday that he has no plans to trade for a star player in the final year of his contract.

"The only way you think about that is if you have injuries," Smith said.

Smith reiterated that he isn't planning on making any trades.

Smith was also asked if he thinks his team is good enough to return to the Finals.

"I do. I like our team."

A member of the Celtics suggested that the team was better than the Magic despite a 1-3 mark against them this season.

Boston coach Doc Rivers quickly corrected the player.

"One of the guys said, 'We're better than Orlando,' and I said, 'No you're not. That's a bunch of crap,' " Rivers said after Sunday's 96-89 loss at TD Garden. "They beat you three games, two at your place. They're better. They knocked you out of the playoffs last year.

"Orlando's better than us right now. Atlanta's better than us right now. L.A.'s [the Lakers] better than us right now. Those are the teams that have beaten us. That doesn't mean that we can't be better than them at some point. But right now, those teams are better than us."

With Sunday's loss to Orlando, Boston dropped to 3-9 against teams with the top eight records in the NBA.

"It's not just the players," Rivers added.

"I've got to get this right with the team as well. You know you've got to point your fingers everywhere. We're 30-what, I don't even know what our record is -- 32-17. That sounds like a great record. But it's not good enough for us. And that's the way I look at it. So I've got to get the message through to this team. It's got to be more clear. I have to do more things and, obviously, I've got to get the message through."

The agent for Brandon Bass will push for a trade during the offseason if it becomes clear he will continue to not be a big part of Orlando's plans.

"Without question," Tony Dutt, Brandon's agent, told the Sentinel by phone. "If things keep going the way they are through the rest of the year, then I think the writing's on the wall."

The Magic signed Bass to a four-year, $18 million free-agent deal last summer, but he has appeared in just 28 games this season, with three starts.

Bass, admittedly frustrated and disappointed, was asked if he still wanted to be in Orlando.

"Do I want to stay here? If they feel like I can help them, sooner than later, I'd love to stay here. If something changes. ? If they say I can't help the team and they don't want me here ? then maybe I have to do what's best for myself," said Bass, who also was courted last summer by Charlotte, Detroit, Chicago and Portland, among others.

"I signed here because I wanted to win championships. I took less dollars because I wanted to win. But it eats at me, because I can't contribute to the team."