Magic forward Grant Hill likely will begin practicing with the club by the end of next week.

Hill went through his longest individual workout before Monday night's victory at Boston.

He underwent surgery to repair a hernia Oct. 31 and is expected to be back before Christmas.

"I felt good, really good," said Hill, who played a controlled game of one-on-one against Bo Outlaw, his third since Friday. "That was the longest one I've had so far. I'm getting closer."

Magic forward Grant Hill likely will begin practicing with the club by the end of next week.

Hill went through his longest individual workout before Monday night's victory at Boston.

He underwent surgery to repair a hernia Oct. 31 and is expected to be back before Christmas.

"I felt good, really good," said Hill, who played a controlled game of one-on-one against Bo Outlaw, his third since Friday. "That was the longest one I've had so far. I'm getting closer."

Orlando Magic guard Keyon Dooling said there is "no timetable" for his return from inflamed plantar fascia in his right foot.

He had magnetic resonance imaging Saturday and was placed on the inactive list after being injured Friday night against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Dooling had just made his return -- and Magic regular-season debut -- on Nov. 13 after missing more than three weeks recovering from a bruised right heel.

He sat out Saturday's game against his old team, the Miami Heat, with his mother, Brenda, in the stands.

Dooling said this latest setback with the right foot doesn't feel as serious. "Hopefully, not," he said. "It's the same area. It didn't feel as extreme. It was a little scary because I heard a noise, but as far as pain-wise, it didn't feel as bad. . . . It's frustrating. I was starting to get my feet under me."

Magic shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson said he would be out almost two months if he elected to have surgery on his right knee.

Stevenson was injured during Monday's practice while making a move. An magnetic resonance imaging revealed he had some floating cartilage.

"I think I can get through the whole year," he said. "I got to have a broken leg to get me out of a game."

Coach Brian Hill, however, said that Stevenson did not "look good" during Wednesday's shoot-around.

Stevenson figures he would be out nearly two months, counting "time it takes to get back in shape."

Asked if he would be able to participate in practices with the injury, plus playing in games, Stevenson said, "That's a good question," he said. "I don't know. We go pretty hard. I'll have to play it by ear."

Orlando Magic leading scorer Steve Francis hopes to play tonight against the Washington Wizards after missing practice the past two days with a bruised chest and shoulder, an injury sustained in a single-car crash Saturday night.

As if the Magic (3-6) don't have enough problems with a slow start, Francis said his accident occurred five minutes after he left TD Waterhouse Centre on an I-4 entrance ramp following their loss to the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets.

His fiancee, who was following him in a second car, drove them both home, he said.

Orlando police said they had no report on the accident.

"The airbags never came out. It was kind of a fluke,'' Francis said Tuesday evening. "The car will be back on the road next week. It was only scratched up.

"I'm pretty sore right now, though, banged up, but I'm still looking to play [today].''

Orlando Magic F Grant Hill, saying he feels better than he expected, has been jogging lightly and shooting for a few days.

Hill underwent sports hernia surgery Oct. 31 and isn't expected to play again until mid-to-late December.

"I think I can pick it up," said Hill, who accompanied the team to Cleveland for Friday night's game. "I don't have pain. When I run, pick up the knees, I feel it pull.

"It's different than when I had the ankle. With the ankle, you can't do anything, really."

Hill seemed to indicate he might be back sooner than expected, but said, "There's definitely a protocol with this. I know one thing: My conditioning will need work."

Orlando Magic power forward Dwight Howard made some history Tuesday -- and the attention might make his job even tougher. Howard, 19 years and 342 days old, became the youngest player in NBA history to record 20-plus points and 20 rebounds in the same game. He had 21 points and 20 rebounds in the Magic's 85-77 victory against the Charlotte Bobcats -- a "monster night," said Magic Coach Brian Hill.

Before Howard, former Atlanta Hawk John Drew was the youngest to record 20-20 at 20 years, 47 days. Drew scored 44 points and had 20 rebounds in 1974.

Howard has had impressive back-to-back outings. If he continues to "string together games," said Hill, Howard should expect more opponents to double-team him, possibly with another big man. "I don't think there's any question," Hill said. "But Dwight's a great learner, and every game is going to be a work in progress."

Steve Francis says that three things have changed him: Becoming a first-time father, settling in with the Magic franchise and longing to reach the playoffs again.

Without prompting, Francis told me, "I want to stay in Orlando. I want to help this franchise win."

Francis didn't always feel that way. He resisted the trade to Orlando at first, deeply wounded after feeling he had become the face of the Rockets. But now he's buying a home here.

Francis still hears trade rumors, and maybe they accelerated the maturing process.

Heat president Pat Riley isn't looking to make any more changes after the extreme makeover he performed on his team in the offseason, which is why he's vehemently denying rumors Miami has interest in Latrell Sprewell. Those close to the unemployed swingman say he can't understand why he hasn't found work. Lately, Sprewell has been linked to the Hawks, but Atlanta is loaded with wing players. The most likely destination for Sprewell is Orlando or Chicago.

Guard Keyon Dooling practiced without pain Friday and plans to make his much-anticipated debut Sunday night when the Orlando Magic host the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Dooling missed the final four preseason games and the first five games of the regular season after suffering a bone bruise in his right heel on Oct. 18.

"I'm pretty much predetermined that I'm going to get out there and give it a try," Dooling said. "It's been frustrating for me because I worked hard in the offseason to get ready and played pretty well in the preseason. It was a setback for me, but it's still early and I think I can get back into the swing pretty quick."