Listen to Coach Doc Rivers too much, and he will have you believing that every member of the Orlando Magic is coming off the bench this season.

There are almost no guarantees in this training camp. Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill will start, and the other three spots are open. To the victors go the public-address announcer's vocal cords during pregame introductions.

Rivers wants it this way. His motives are part strategic and part provocative. He would like nothing better than to preserve the health of some of his aging role players, but this also is a teaching tool.

"Everybody has to work for it," Rivers said. "No given spots. I want to see who wants to compete.

"I'm really stressing competition on this team. One of our weaknesses last year was, we were mentally soft at times. We'd have a chance to win, but we just couldn't fight through things. I'm not going to let them do that."

If you exclude Hill, who missed 68 games, the Magic could have four new starters this year.

In an attempt to extend his career, point guard Darrell Armstrong, 34, is expected to move to his old sixth-man role. He would be replaced by Jacque Vaughn or Hill, if the Magic choose to go with a big perimeter lineup of Hill, McGrady and forward Mike Miller.

Because Hill is rusty, Rivers is likely to start Vaughn, which means Miller, who averaged 15.2 points last season, would come off the bench. Forward Pat Garrity started 43 games as an undersized power forward last season, but he could join Miller and Armstrong to give the second unit three double-digit scorers.

Horace Grant, a power forward who started 76 games primarily at center, may see a reserve role and watch his minutes cut from 29 to between 20 and 25. This is an effort to keep Grant, 37, who is recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, fresh for the stretch run.

"We can go 10, 11, 12 deep," Armstrong said. "Man, that's a great lineup. Any team would take that."

Convincing the starters to consider reserve roles has been easy. Armstrong is ready to see whether he can win a second sixth-man-of-the-year award. Garrity and Grant have no qualms. Miller, who began last season on the bench and didn't like it, is more open to the idea this season.

"That's the thing I had to learn last year," Miller said. "Coming off the rookie of the year, I felt like it was time for me to go out there and play. And when I didn't start, I didn't play very well. And Coach and I talked about it. This year, I'm ready."

Vaughn and big men Andrew DeClercq, Shawn Kemp and Olumide Oyedeji could be the biggest winners. They have the opportunity to start. Rivers needs some of them to show in order for his plan to work.

Of course, the incumbents won't hand over those jobs. But the Magic also are banking on the fact that DeClercq is in a contract year, Kemp is trying to revive his career and Oyedeji is trying to establish a career.

Rivers is getting the competition he wanted early in camp. "They're killing each other," he said, grinning. "They're holding and grabbing and fouling. I love to see that."

Armstrong and forward Jermaine Walker butted heads Tuesday. Vaughn was kicked in the calf on a drive to the basket. McGrady is getting stripped as he goes to the basket. Intensity is the rule.

"There are guys who are trying to get jobs," Armstrong said. "There are guys trying to position themselves into playing time. That should spark a fire in anybody."