Coach Van Gundy: "We're not ready to contend"

You can blame the Magic's missed shots down the stretch and Dwight Howard's costly technical foul in the game's final seconds. But, ultimately, the 100-97 loss to the Grizzlies was caused primarily by long stretches of atrocious defensive play.

"We're not ready to contend," Van Gundy said afterward. "We don't defend hard enough for long enough, and we're going to see if over the next 10? weeks now if it'll change. If it does, then we have a chance to be as good as anybody. And it if doesn't, then we don't."

"They hit a lot of shots, and there was nothing we could do about that," Howard said. "They got into the paint very easily tonight, and our rotations were slow. So, we've just got to be better with that."

The Magic lost for the sixth time in their last 12 games and have lost all of the momentum they had gained from their bold, but risky, mid-December trades.

And they may have lost their starting power forward for a while, too.

Brandon Bass hurt his left ankle late in the third quarter when he took a jump shot and came down on Zach Randolph's foot.

Magic officials are calling his injury a sprained ankle and said X-rays taken at the arena showed no fractures.

Bass will be evaluated again in Orlando, but his ankle swelled grotesquely. One by one, Magic players in the locker room afterward marveled at how badly the joint had puffed up. The outside of Bass' ankle looked as if a golf ball had been inserted just underneath the skin.

"I twisted it," Bass said. "They said X-rays are negative, so I'm just going to ice it and hope for a speedy recovery."

If Bass' injury is a prolonged one, it could have a cascade effect on the Magic's already thin frontcourt. Reserve big man Malik Allen has been on the team's active roster for six days now, but he recently sprained the MCL in his left knee and may not be able to play significant, or effective, minutes.