After a tough back to back in Houston and San Antonio, the Lakers are prepared to continue their toughest four game stretch of the season.

The loss to the Spurs left a sour taste in my mouth, especially because of the way it all went down. With that said, it’s time to redeem ourselves in two ways. One, end this one game losing streak, and secondly, split the season series against the Orlando Magic.

Last time we met up against the Magic, the Lakers were on the 2nd of a back-to-back after losing to Miami the first night. The Magic game went just like the one the night before with a small lead at the end, the opposition taking over last minute, and the Lakers shot with time winding down going in and out giving the other team the win.

This time, it will be different though (I hope)! Perhaps Kobe will stand tall above the rest.

In preparation for this game, I’ve contacted Ben from Third Quarter Collapse, one of the top Orlando Magic blogs. He was kind enough to answer some of my questions about the Magic and I answered a few of his regarding the Lakers.

LABallTalk: The Magic paid a lot of money to bring in Rashard Lewis. Has he proven to be worth the money?

Third Quarter Collapse: So far, he’s playing very well. I don’t think there’s anything he can do, individually, to justify his mammoth contract. But it’s clear that he’s contributing, with his scoring and three-point shooting, and he’s a very unselfish guy who doesn’t require a certain amount of shots in order to be happy.

The way I see it, if the Magic win a championship with Lewis here, then the contract will have been worth it. If not, then they just made themselves into an also-ran team that can’t acquire the “missing piece” to get them over the hump because of tax limitations. Sorry if that sounds harsh.

Lewis has never been a max-level player. However, he was the best player available that year, the Magic had a ton of cap room, and they needed to use it. Dwight Howard was up for an extension that summer, and although there was no chance the Magic wouldn’t offer him the max-level deal, I get the sense that they needed to aim high in free agency to prove to him that they’re committed to building a winner.

LABallTalk: Hedo has become an absolute monster. I have heard rumors floating that they may consider letting him go after this season. What do you think will happen?

Third Quarter Collapse: The Magic will do everything they can to keep Hedo, but in the end, it’s up to him. He indicated before this season even started that he would opt out in the summer, which is a no-brainer anyway. He’s nearly 30 and wants to secure his last lucrative, long-term NBA deal. Keeping Turk has to be Priority A for the Magic, because they’re set at the other four positions: Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, Lewis, and Mickael Pietrus are signed long-term. There’s no easy way to replace what Turk does. He’s 6’10″, scores in a variety of ways, rebounds well (although not as well as a 6’10″ guy should, but that’s being nitpicky), and he makes plays. There’s no way the Magic would be where they are now without Turkoglu. They couldn’t plug in, say, Josh Howard and expect to have the same level of success.

In the end, I think the Magic will take their chances and hang on to Turk rather than trade him before the deadline. They’re playing very well right now and can’t risk dealing away one of their key players in the middle of a championship run. It will be a shame if they can’t afford to re-sign him in the summer, but that’s the chance they have to take. It’s now or never with this team.

LABallTalk: The Lakers and Magic swung a trade last year with the Magic acquiring Mo Evans and Brian Cook while sending Trevor Ariza over to the Lakers. Today, it seems quite one sided as Ariza has really developed into a great small forward and his shooting touch continues to improve on a daily basis. Any thoughts from the city of Orlando on this?

Third Quarter Collapse: The move was immensely unpopular in Orlando when it happened, and the attitude hasn’t gotten better over time. There’s a long list of former Magic players who flourished after leaving Orlando–Steve Kerr, Chauncey Billups, and Ben Wallace come immediately to mind–and Trevor looks likely to join that list very soon.

There is a bit of support for the deal, though. Mo Evans started most of the Magic’s games at shooting guard last year, and was a clear improvement over Keith Bogans, whom he replaced. Brian Cook missed the end of last season with a broken knuckle, but he provided some big three-pointers in some games. Now, of course, Evans is an Atlanta Hawk and Cook plays sparingly. It looks like am especially bad move, but we should keep in mind that Ariza wasn’t getting any minutes under Stan Van Gundy, largely because he couldn’t make a three-pointer to save his life. So I suppose both teams benefitted. But the Lakers clearly got the best of that deal.

LABallTalk: The Magic are playing very well this season so far. The Celtics have taken a bit of a step back and Cleveland continues to dominate their opponents. How far do you think the Magic can go and do you believe they have a realistic chance at challenging for the title this season?

Third Quarter Collapse: I don’t know that the Celtics have taken a step back. Even with their recent 2-7 skid, they’re only two games off last year’s pace and are still crushing teams by 9 points per game, so it’s not like they’ve fallen to the middle of the field or anything.

That said, I still like the Magic’s chances of at least making the conference finals this year. They have the three-point firepower to a) build big leads in a hurry and b) erase big deficits in a hurry. And they have a great defense, which can keep them in games when their shots aren’t dropping. Oh yeah, and they have an elite center to anchor the lane on both ends of the floor.

The biggest knock on the Magic from media types and fans alike–apart from their lack of playoff experience–is their bench. It hasn’t looked like a weakness lately. J.J. Redick is shooting the lights out, while Marcin Gortat and Tony Battie are solid, defensive-minded, reserve pivotmen who don’t kill the offense while they’re in the game. Courtney Lee will likely re-join that group once Mickael Pietrus’ broken wrist heals. Those are four competent reserves who can spell the starters for 10-12 minutes a night.

The guy I haven’t mentioned is Anthony Johnson, the backup point guard. He’s played every game this season because, well, the Magic have nobody behind him. And he is terrible. I give him credit for playing hard–it’s easier to stomach bad players as long as they give a good effort–and for hitting 37.7% of his three-pointers, but he’s shooting 35.5% from the field overall. Only 23% of his possessions end in assists, while 17.2% of them end in turnovers. Although he earned a reputation as an above-average defender earlier in his career, he’s lost a lot of quickness, and as a result is not nearly as effective. Backup point guard is the team’s most pressing need. But the media, if anything, are more likely to question Battie and Gortat.