With Sunday's loss to the Bucks, the Magic were officially eliminated from Playoff contention. The NBA Draft Lottery will be the first major event of the offseason for the Magic.

As things stand right now, Orlando has the second worst record in the league and therefore the second best chance at gaining the top pick. It does not seem likely Orlando will move up or down, so the team should have about a 20 percent chance to get the top pick.

The 2013 NBA Draft Lottery takes place on May 21, if you want to mark your calendars now.

The NCAA Tournament kicks off this week and, rightly or wrongly, it is the first time many NBA fans get a close look at the top prospects entering the NBA Draft.

Seeing as there are the most games during the first week of the Tournament -- and no guarantee the top picks make it past the opening weekend -- this is the time to do your NBA Draft cramming, Magic fans.

Throughout the week, there will be several Draft-focused posts on this site in addition to game posts and Magic posts. I have a Q&A planned with Ed Isaacson of NBA Draft Blog and I highly suggest you visit his site to get a very detailed look at the NBA Draft prospects. He should be doing profiles of some of the bigger draft prospects in the coming days.

Also I have set up an official Orlando Magic Daily NCAA Tournament pool on ESPN.com. Visit ESPN.com and search for "Orlando Magic Daily". The password is "dwightcoward". If enough people enter, I may dig into my old basketball card collection and offer a team set of Magic basketball cards (probably like 10 cards from a specific year or something like that). We will see how it goes.

For now, set your DVRs and calendars for these games as they feature the top prospects for the NBA Draft:

The Magic were cruising to a victory. For the majority of the game, they did everything right. They responded to runs and found a way to extend their lead back to double digits after giving up some quick points. Orlando was not able to put Milwaukee away. But the Magic were not able to run away.

When Monta Ellis decided to chase coming down the back stretch, the Magic, despite going and clicking on just about every cylinder, were unable to keep up.

Ellis just decimated a confident Magic team that had a win in their sights and left their heads spinning, wondering what happened? The avalanche that was Monta Ellis in the fourth quarter derailed an otherwise great game for the struggling Magic.

Ellis scored 25 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter, leading Milwaukee to a 45-point fourth quarter and a 115-109 win at the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Sunday afternoon. Orlando is likely still trying to figure out what happened with the team holding a 12-point lead when Ellis really let his run get going and seeing a lead slip away in a quarter in which the team still scored 28 points.

It was hard to figure out what more the Magic could do to ge tthe win Sunday night.

The Bucks were making shots. Rather, it was Ellis making shots. The defense could not adjust because many of those shots from Ellis were contested. He scores and when he gets on a role, these kind of nights can happen.

Ellis got himself going and the Magic's interior defense seemed to break down a bit as they tried to adjust. Ellis and Jennings were able to get in the paint with renewed confidence and they found bigs like Ersan Ilyasova and Larry Sanders for easy baskets or for fouls.

Orlando had seven turnovers entering the final quarter and ended up with 13 for the game. This gave the Bucks more opportunity.

The NBA season is here. With that in mind, it is time to flip through the book on the 2012-13 season and to take a look at what the season might have in store -- especially when it comes to the Magic. Be sure to look out for more of these team capsules and to check out all the blogs taking part in this year's NBA Blog Preview (don't worry, I will be linking to all of them in the next few weeks ... months ... this preview IS never-ending, afterall).

Milwaukee Bucks
Last Year/This Year: 31-35/32-32

Last Year vs. Magic: Bucks Lost 99-94 in Milwaukee on Feb. 11; Bucks Lost 94-85 in Orlando on Feb. 17; Bucks Lost 93-90 in Milwaukee on Feb. 20; Bucks Lost 114-98 in Orlando on March 3
This Year vs. Magic: Bucks Won 107-98 in Milwaukee on Feb. 2; March 17 in Milwaukee; April 10 in Orlando

Magic Connection: Gustavo Ayon (Player, 2012-13); Drew Gooden (Player, 2003-04); J.J. Redick (2006-13); Ish Smith (Player, 2012-13); Assistant Coach Joe Wolf (Player, 1995-96)

The Previews: Frank Madden/Brewhoop

The NBA dropped a humorous advertisement earlier this year, cutting highlights of Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis to the theme song of the Milwaukee-based comedy Laverne and Shirley. The dream for the Bucks was for the team they had built featuring the two shoot-first, undersized guards to work as well together as those two roommates did.

The results have been . . . well.

They have not been bad. The Bucks are comfortably sitting in eighth place in the Eastern Conference and appear set to make the Playoffs for the first time since 2010. But the future for Milwaukee is extremely precarious.

With the acquisition of J.J. Redick, Milwaukee could potentially lose all three guards and be left with a roster full of tough-minded tweeners in the frontcourt. The Bucks went all in on this season -- even if that means just barely making the Playoffs.

Of course, that could mean they get them all back for another run next year. Brandon Jennings is a restricted free agent this summer, and there are rumors that he may sign the qualifying offer so he can become an unrestricted free agent in 2014. There are also rumors that Monta Ellis could opt in to the final year of his deal. That would be a bonus for Milwaukee.

This year though, Milwaukee should accomplish its goal and make the postseason. It is a small one, for sure, but one the franchise is determined to accomplish -- thus the Redick deal and giving up Tobias Harris to get him.

The jury is still out it would seem on the Jennings/Ellis pairing. It is not so hunky dory.

The Magic never led in the second half against the Thunder on Friday night. You would be hard pressed to find a player hanging their head too low or a fan that was not excited about the effort the Magic put forth against the defending Western Conference champions.

That is what happens when a 27-point first-half deficit is cut to four with about four minutes left in the fourth quarter. Yes, the lowly Orlando Magic made the might Oklahoma City Thunder sweat.

That was about all the Magic could do however. The Thunder are still the Thunder. Kevin Durant is still Kevin Durant. And Russell Westbrook is still Russell Westbrook.

Oklahoma City snapped into action down the stretch. Defensively, the Thunder clamped down on a hot Arron Afflalo. And Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook each hit some big 3-pointers to help Oklahoma City stave off Orlando's rally for a 117-103 win at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Friday night.

Late game execution has been a theme all season for the Magic. The team with the more talented players who were able to create for themselves and for others won. It was no coincidence that the team with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook was able to get good shots and make difficult shots and the team with Jameer Nelson and Arron Afflalo was unable to do so.

No knock on Nelson and Afflalo for that statement.

Gilbert Arenas flamed out in Orlando.

One of Stan Van Gundy's greatest failures in his extremely successful tenures as Orlando's head coach was his attempt to reign in Gilbert Arenas and make him a backup point guard. It was extremely frustrating for Arenas, the organization and Dwight Howard.

In the end, Arenas played only 8.0 points per game in 49 games, shooting 34.4 percent from the floor. He was cut using the NBA's amnesty clause after the lockout ended in a move Arenas even acknowledged was a good one. The Magic are paying Arenas $20 million this year and next as part of that deal.

Arenas was cast off into the netherworld, boucning around the NBA and trying to find a job before ultimately becoming an NBA castoff.

Arenas played this season in China where nagging injuries kept him from having the season he wanted. But, Arenas at the end of the season, began looking like Agent Zero again. He averaged 20.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, shooting 50.0 percent in 27.3 minutes per game.

He had some big games at the end of the season and was his old self, interacting with fans in and around Shanghai. In other words, Agent Zero was back.

He will be on the cover of SLAM magazine this month and spoke with Karan Madhok about his time in China:

SLAM: But it does seem like the joy in your game is back. Being back on the court, back with teammates…

GA: You know, that’s all basketball is. If someone loves something, and you take it away, it’s like, what does he do now? What does someone do? That’s what happened with me in the last couple of years in the NBA when I went to Orlando, and then I got benched. And I was in Memphis and I wasn’t playing. It was just like, why do I wanna keep doing this? So then when I got the chance to come to China to play…OK! As long as I get to play.

SLAM: You’ve sort of had a mini-resurrection of your career over here in China. Even though you missed games with injury, just to see you on the court and playing big minutes, it’s a great thing for the fans.

GA: Yeah, you know, that’s all that it was about. Even this year, in the beginning, I was thinking when I got hurt that this has been going on for the last three years of my career. Some little ticky-tack injuries been keeping me out for long periods of time and I’m getting benched. So when Yao decided that he wasn’t going to cut me, he was going to keep me, I was like, Thank you Lord! I can’t wait ’til I get on the court to show that I can actually play at a high level. So I’m just happy that he gave me the opportunity.

Hopefully Gilbert Arenas is doing well in China. Wish him all the best. He always a fun guy to talk to.

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.