Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Ira Winderman column: Can Magic still make its point?(Column)

Byline: Ira Winderman

Feb. 8--A weekly look at five talking points that have the league buzzing:

1. Fear without Jameer. From the get-go, the Magic knew it was playing with fire, with only 34-year-old Anthony Johnson in reserve of Jameer Nelson at point guard. Now, with Nelson out with his shoulder injury, the league's best chemistry lesson could go poof, even with the pickup of Tyronn Lue. In Nelson, the Magic not only had a quick point guard who could force the action off the pick-and-roll, but also an essentially spacing element to open the middle for Dwight Howard. While there won't be much of a tumble in the standings, anything beyond a No. 3 seed in the East is now beyond Orlando's grasp.

2. The real MVP? No sooner did Chris Paul go down with a strained right groin, then the Hornets first blew a 20-point third-quarter lead in a 97-89 loss to Portland, followed by a 107-93 loss in Paul's absence to the highly suspect Bulls. How much …