On opening night, the Magic sported a veteran-looking lineup with Jameer Nelson, Arron Afflalo, Hedo Turkoglu, Glen Davis and Nikola Vucevic. Only Vucevic could be considered "young" and the team was establishing the base for its future growth by bringing rookies along slowly.

That experiment lasted all of one game. Hedo Turkoglu broke his hand and the Magic had two starting lineups in two games.

It did not take long for other injuries to take their toll on this roster and the plan to bring several rookies along slowly was pretty much stopped. The Magic now have had 20 starting lineups in 65 games, the most in the league. Now the Magic are using a lineup that indeed has a lot of young players -- second-year player Nikola Vucevic is joined with rookies Maurice Harkless and Andrew Nicholson and there were a few calls for second-year forward Tobias Harris to make an appearance at the beginning of the games before he started his first game in a Magic uniform a week ago.

For first year coach Jacque Vaughn, the shifts in the starting lineup have been something he has had to adjust to on the fly. There have been plenty of growing pains as Vaughn has had to throw young players into the fold sooner than anticipated just to field his best team.

"I don’t think we can expect to see any lineup the way this year has gone," Jacque Vaughn said before Sunday's loss to the Grizzlies. "We lead the league in most lineups and that is by circumstance. We’ll deal with whatever circumstance comes about.

"If the first game of the year w edon’t have a player hurt, I would love to have the same five guys that I started at the beginning of the year playing right now. Injuries and other things don’t always cooperate. Just like the opponents don’t always cooperate. I’d like to box them out but they don’t cooperate all the time. They don’t allow that."

The year has been about the improvement and Vaughn has continually said he would put players in a position where they could succeed. That has meant inconsistent minutes at times for rookies like Maurice Harkless, Andrew Nicholson and DeQuan Jones -- each have started more than 15 games this season.

Vaughn has taken a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the starting lineup each night. Andrew Nicholson, Maurice Harkless and DeQuan Jones have gone from starting one game to out of the rotation the next. Lately it has been Nicholson sitting out, having started 14 conseecutive games before last week when Harris entered the lineup.

Let me get this out of the way first: Dwight Howard deserved to be booed.

For a season and a half, he waffled and played with Magic fans' emotions. He kept the whole organization in limbo because of his indecision and forced the team to cater to his ever-changing whims before ultimately frustrating everything by either having a true change of heart or fearing a trade to a destination he did not want.

What Howard did in opting in to the final year of his contract without agreeing to an extension in Orlando was one of the dumbest business moves in both Magic history and free agency history. The talk of "loyalty" at that press conference -- no matter what may or may not have happened after Howard's injury -- turned out to be a straw man and Howard was gone five months later.

It says more that Howard never made it back to Orlando until Tuesday night as he rehabbed his back in far off Los Angeles.

The question now though is not how we react to Howard, but how we move on. Howard has made his return to Orlando. He likely will return to his Lake Mary home this summer and spend some time around the city he grew up in as a player. Howard's presence will forever be part of Orlando just like Shaquille O'Neal's was (at least until Tracy McGrady arrived at the earliest or until Dwight Howard led the Magic out of the first round for the first time at the latest).

Dealing with this loss is going to take time and the wound is still fresh for many Magic fans. It may not completely pass until the Magic return to the Playoffs and reach a level of contention again. Until then, it probably is not worth talking about all the good Howard did in a Magic uniform for many fans.

At some point though, as Howard said, we all have to move on. Feelings might have been hurt, but what happened happened, no matter how poorly and insultingly the departure was handled.

It has been about 24 hours and Dwight Howard has come and gone. The atmosphere was electric while the game disappointed.

The game was not what was important to a lot of fans. A win would have made the entire season for many as karmic justice. For others it was just cathartic to have the scapegoat of Dwight Howard in person to direct ire and anger at. Yes, the Magic are second worst in the NBA right now and the future feels bright, but Dwight Howard is the kind of player that makes your team relevant no matter what.

It also makes it a good one.

Magic fans missed that and you could tell by the energy in Amway Center last night. The more than 19,000 in attendance set an arena record and was the eighth sellout of the season. It was an electric atmosphere that was missing for much of the season. That is to be expected when you have a losing team.

For one night, the Magic did not feel like a losing team. They felt like a team with something to play for. They got their Playoff atmosphere at the beginning.

The win over the Lakers in December and the game last night in Orlando are going to be two of the more memorable games from this season. Amway Center was wild last night so let's revisit it a bit this evening.

Now that the old No. 12 is out of the way and out of Orlando for another year, Magic fans can love the new No. 12 again.

Tobias Harris quickly took over the number worn by perhaps the best player in the Magic's history and that was as much a sign that the team and organization had moved on. Or simply did not care. We will talk about Howard and moving on later.

This is about why Tobias Harris dons No. 12 and wanted the number so bad. The number was important to Harris as it honors a friend and AAU teammate who died from a rare blood disease when he was 16. As Danny Morales of DTM News Journal writes, the number had special meaning for Harris and is a reminder of his journey:

Being so young at that point and knowing how much Morgan loved the game,” said Harris about the turning point. “Knowing how much we both wanted to make the NBA. There was a point in my life when I was like ‘I’m about to do this, I’m about to put in a whole bunch of effort.’ So I know he’s watching over me upstairs.

Harris asked team officials if he could wear No. 12 after wearing it in high school and in college at Tennessee. He could not grab the number in Milwaukee but snagged it when he came to Orlando. It was open after all.

Harris has been impressive for the Magic so far, averaging 15.4 points per game on 51.9 percent shooting. He has started the last three games and that included an impressive double double against the Lakers on Tuesday where he scored 17 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds. The playing time has been a big boost for this talented young player.

He also did this to Dwight Howard, and that is always nice:

The Magic were going to ride emotion as long as they could against Dwight Howard and the Lakers at Amway Center. The crowd was going to give it to them as they welcomed Howard back to his old stomping grounds for the first time as an opponent.

The Magic fans booed loudly and roundly. Howard smiled back, mocked booing at himself too and basked in everything that was the atmosphere of his first return. He then went to work, doing everything he could not do in that first game.

There were still moments of revelry though. Plenty of them.

These are the moments Magic fans will hold on to as the Lakers continue their fight for the Playoffs and the Magic fade closer to counting the ping pong balls as the goal for their season.

There was Jameer Nelson shooting a floater over Dwight Howard to end the first half and bring Orlando within four points. There was Tobias Harris rising high and blocking Howard's layup from behind to ignite a fast break that ended with Arron Afflalo making a layup to give Orlando a 57-56 third-quarter lead.

That might have been the end of the high points on this night. The Lakers defense was difficult to crack with the Magic settling for jumpers for much of the night and keeping an eye on No. 12 patrolling the paint. The Lakers broke free after the Magic took that momentary lead and went on a 14-3 run to take a double digit lead and cruise uncomfortably at times to a 106-97 win at Amway Center on Tuesday.

The Lakers never quite pulled away from the Magic. The lead went out to as much as 16 points and Orlando kept fighting and fighting. There was not a moment the team would go out with a whimper. There was no quit. There just were not enough made shots to win.

Orlando shot 39.8 percent from the floor and committed 14 turnovers for 17 Los Angeles points. It seemed when the Magic were about climb over the hill and take the lead or get back into the game, the Lakers would follow with a big shot from Jodie Meeks or Metta World Peace or Antawn Jamison.

The Magic could rarely answer.

When fans look at the players on the floor tonight, only one will matter.

Yes, tonight is all about Dwight Howard. Fans will finally get to see the All Star center who jilted them in a most embarrasing and mismanaged fashion. It has left an adoring fan base with a stomach full of hatred ready to be hurled out onto the court once the ball tips and before.

Howard has been preparing himself mentally for it and Magic fans have had March 12 circled on their calendars since the schedule came out.

However, when you look at the roster that will actually take the floor tonight, only one player actually played with Dwight Howard.

Hedo Turkoglu is suspended. Glen Davis is injured. J.J. Redick is traded.

Only Jameer Nelson actually played with Howard and he already dedicated the win in Los Angeles to Magic fans. That was back when the team was very much playing for something and in the thick of the early Eastern Conference playoff race. Now, the Magic are not playing for much. A 18-46 record takes a lot out of a team.

No, now the team is about improving every day. And so tonight's game offers another learning experience. One that is going to be quite unique.

The atmosphere in Amway Center is going to be raucous.

Surprisingly, there may not be a person more supportive of Dwight Howard this year than his former coach Stan Van Gundy.

As Dwight Howard prepares to return to Orlando for the first time since his trade in August and his unofficial departure in April following the whole Stan Van Gundy press conference where Van Gundy aired dirty laundry and so on and so forth. We know that story.

Stan Van Gundy knows where things should be and gives everything proper perspective. So, unlike many fans, he is looking at Dwight's return with a little more positivity than many fans, as he tells Jeff Zillgitt of USA TODAY:

I thought we had really good chemistry on the floor and really played well together. Off the floor, guys really liked each other and had fun. I don't think they always liked me and me pushing and yelling and screaming, but they like each other a lot. They certainly enjoyed the success they were having. It was a good time here in Orlando for most of it, especially the first three years I was here."

Without doubt, Howard's eight-year tenure in Orlando included the most successful run in the team's history. The Magic won three consecutive division titles, went out of the first round for the first time in 12 years, went to the NBA Finals in 2009 and the Eastern Conference Finals in 2010. The Magic teams were perhaps the best in the franchise's history and were a lot of fun to watch.

It is difficult to remember the good times. Any time you bring up the prospect of retiring Howard's jersey eventually, it brings up fans' ire. The wound is still very fresh.

By all means, Magic fans have a right to boo Howard and let him know how they feel about his departure and the way it was handled. His apology seems too little, too late.

Eventually though, we will all get to the point where we can remember all the good Howard did in Orlando. And there was a lot, both on and off the court. When time passes, it will be easier to reflect on that. It will be easier to recognize all the team success he achieved and all the individual success -- which includes the franchise's all-time marks in scoring and rebounding and three Defensive Player of the Year awards.

Right now, Magic fans are acting on raw emotion.

It is somewhat to be expected considering the Magic have dropped to the second worst record in the NBA. Still, things could be going much worse when it comes to attendance and TV ratings.

Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports both attendance at the Amway Center and TV ratings have dropped this season, but that Magic officials are still optimistic about the business side of the franchise. Ticket renewals are on the same pace as last year and ultimately they know winning will cure many of these woes.

At the end of the day over the long haul, it's all about wins and losses," Magic CEO Alex Martins said. "We like to say in our business that the hot dogs taste better and the beer is colder and the popcorn is fresher with more wins.

"But if we take a proactive approach to our business, if we continue to focus on [giving customers value for their money], if we continue to utilize this building for all the amenities that it has, it allows us to continue to have strong business in times of transition like we're going through this year.

The Magic are averaging 17,529 fans per game in paid attendance through 34 home games. The full capacity is 18,846 meaning on average the stadium is 93.0 percent full. There have been seven sellouts so far. And the next three games should be sell outs with the Lakers coming to town Tuesday and then the Thunder and Heat in the next two home games in a few weeks.

Of course, paid attendance is very different than the number of people who show up.

More expected and maybe concerning is the sharp decrease in television ratings. According to Robbins, the team has seen a 54 percent decrease in its television viewership. The Magic even were passing out magnet schedules for the final two months of games with the Bright House channels for Fox Sports Florida and Fox Sports Florida HD.

Martins said though that television viewership is most tied to wins and losses. So these numbers may not be much of a surprise.

Again, it feels like a lot of this is tied to the Magic's record. A lot of these decreases were to be expected.

When things were going well for the Magic, it all started on teh defensive end of the floor. Orlando had a top-10 defensive team in the league and could at least make a game ugly to stay in it.

That mentality seemed to dissipate after Glen Davis' injury and as the young players took on a bigger role for the team. The attention to detail from the Magic seemed to be going away on the defensive end and it made the roster's offensive shortcomings even more apparent.

The potential is there and to defeat the 76ers on Sunday, the Magic needed to reach back and find it.

After giving up 30 points in the first quarter and then 51.2 percent shooting in the first half, Orlando held Philadelphia to 40 second-half points on 41.9 percent shooting and 1-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc. The Magic showed they had some grit and determination to close games as their own hot shooting cooled off. It was the kind of grind-it-out win that you expect more from a veteran team perhaps.

The Magic used their veteran lineup to get the win but many players contributed on the defensive end. Philadelphia was unable to grind it out in the fourth quarter after the two teams went back and forth for almost the entire second half -- the biggest lead of the half was eight points and there were 10 lead changes.

In the end, Philadelphia was unable to keep pace. The 76ers missed free throws down the stretch and the Magic got some big baskets from Jameer Nelson and Arron Afflalo to secure a 99-91 win at Amway Center on Sunday, snapping a seven-game home losing streak that spanned the previous month.

"We kind of just talked about how our approach needed to be a little bit better," Jacque Vaughn said. "There were stages in the game, it was kind of like gears. We started in first gear and then there was the six-minute timeout and we kind of amped it up into second gear a little bit. Eventually in the second half we got into fourth gear. I think it was kind of a game of gears and finally we ramped it up a little bit."

That has not always been the case for Orlando. Sometimes it seems like when the offense is not going well, other aspects of the game -- particularly the defensive end -- tend to collapse. That is the sign of a young team. And you hardly ever talk about "gears" when looking at a team with 17 wins on the season.

The countdown has begun.

No really, it has begun with Power 95.3 FM purchasing several electronic billboards counting down the days, hours and minutes until the Magic take on the Lakers at Amway Center. That would be Tuesday at 7 p.m. if you are curious. Before then, the Magic will play the 76ers at home and the Lakers will play the Bulls in Los Angeles.

The focus is not entirely on Dwight Howard's "homecoming." But like everything this year, it is extremely hard to escape Howard's presence. The Magic are seemingly making every move not only to recover from Howard's departure but also to avoid repeating those mistakes.

The wounds continue to be freshened up every time Howard opens his mouth. The time for talk will soon end and Magic fans will see the man in person.

Of course all that venom is being directed at Howard because so many feel like he should still be in Orlando and had no reason for leaving.

Chris Broussard of ESPN was one of the reporters who raise magic fans' ire for his seemingly constant negative reports regarding the Magic throughout the whole saga. He was one of the national reporters that seemed to have it in for Orlando and never gave the franchise a chance at keeping him.

Well, Broussard now is looking at Dwight Howard and how he can rebuild his legacy. His ultimate conclusion is that Howard should stay with the Lakers and build from teh ground up again in his new surroundings.