Orlando Magic guard J.J. Redick, left, gets fouled by Detroit Pistons forward Austin Daye (5) during game action at Amway Arena in Orlando, Florida, Friday, November 6, 2009. The Magic defeated the Pistons, 110-103. (Gary W. Green/Orlando Sentinel/MCT) View more photos
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Orlando Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy was a harsh critic of his club -- no matter what was left of it.
"I thought we were just trying to hang on to win a regular-season game," he lamented. "We weren't really making a big push to be great."
The Magic survived the Detroit Pistons, 110-103, on Friday night, but the fact of the matter was this:
They were all but trying just as hard to avoid a forfeit and keep a regulation basketball team on the Amway Arena floor.
They finished with just eight players after power forward Ryan Anderson became the latest to be miss time. Four other players flirted with foul trouble as the team keeps the refs' whistles at a high pitch.
Anderson limped off in the third period and said he will have an MRI on Saturday on his sprained right ankle, continuing the Magic's luckless start to the season.
They improved to 5-1 -- the slip-up coming Tuesday night in Detroit -- and they have yet to field their projected starting lineup.
The Magic have a deep bench, but this is stretching it to ridiculous proportions.
In the rematch against the Pistons, they were without starting shooting guard Vince Carter (sprained left ankle), back-up point guard Anthony Johnson (personal reasons) and, of course, power forward Rashard Lewis (suspension) on their active roster.
Center Adonal Foyle is recovering from knee surgery.
At one point late in the fourth period, Dwight Howard and shooting guard J.J. Redick -- who started for Carter -- were playing with five fouls. Point guard Jameer Nelson and small forward Matt Barnes had four apiece. Howard, one foul from disqualification with 2:25 remaining, finally fouled out with 12.6 seconds left.
Orlando never got going in a dreadful 85-80 loss against the Pistons (2-4) on Tuesday night in Auburn Hills, Mich.
This time Magic cooled off considerably after a fast start but made a lead hold up.
The Pistons trailed by 19 at one point and trimmed the margin to six with under three minutes left in the game.
Power forward Brandon Bass and Barnes -- two offseason acquisitions -- played pivotal roles.
Barnes chased down an offensive rebound and fired a pass to Bass, who nailed a jumper for a 100-91 lead with two minutes left.
Howard, who got into early foul trouble before fouling out in Detroit, led the Magic with 22 points and 12 rebounds as five other players scored in double figures.
Barnes (18 points, nine rebounds), Nelson (18 points, eight assists), Bass (13 points), Redick (16 points) and Anderson (11 points) provided just enough offense as it turned out.
The Magic made 30-of-35 free throws, and Howard was 8-of-9. He is in his best free-throw groove, hitting 33-of-41 free throws for 69 percent in his last four games.
The Magic wasted no time discouraging the Pistons in the rematch. They opened a 17-point first-quarter lead at 40-23, shooting a sizzling 73.7 percent by making 14-of-19 shots.
But the Pistons outscored them in each of the three remaining periods, out-shot them 51.4 percent to 47.4 percent. Van Gundy's concern about indifference to defense is legit.
"We've got to be better defensively," Nelson said. "We don't make excuses. We put five guys out there at a time and expect them to do the job. We know what happened: They scored easy."
Ben Gordon, Rodney Stuckey and Will Bynum blew by them Tuesday night, combining for 63 points.
They had 46 this time, but it was power forward Charlie Villanueva (28) points who made it tense down the stretch.
Carter and Johnson should be available for the club's next game in Oklahoma City on Sunday night.
Van Gundy wonders if his team wants to be "great." Right now it needs to be whole.
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