Jameer Nelson still not up to speed for Orlando Magic

PG Jameer Nelson says he isn't close to 100 percent and that his surgically repaired left knee still is sore and swells occasionally.

"It's not there yet," Nelson said after Tuesday night's game in Sacramento. "I just got to work through it."

Nelson's explosiveness and quickness hasn't yet returned. As for now, there's no thought by the club about giving his knee more recovery time.

"All I know is that he's cleared to play and he's playing hard, but right now, I just don't think that he has his quickness," coach Stan Van Gundy said. "That is what you notice most. I don't think he gets to the floor without being healthy, so unless they tell me otherwise, we'll stick with him.

"He seems to be having a hard time at times with his energy level."

Nelson underwent arthroscopic surgery on Nov. 18 and missed 16 games. Heading into Wednesday night's game against the Denver Nuggets, he had played 10 games since coming back.

Injuries cloud picture

Van Gundy said he'd like to be able to get a better read on his team during the second half of the season — if they can stay healthy.

Their four main stars — Nelson, Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Vince Carter — have played together for just 10 games (particularly Nelson and Carter).

"If we can get them together for 20, 25 straight games, we'll have a pretty good idea of where we are," Van Gundy said. "It's very hard for me to give a fair evaluation. We don't have enough data.

"We have to get Jameer and Rashard and Vince in there in the fourth quarter finishing games and finishing them well. That's where we got to get to."

Layups

By the end of the road trip — which concludes Monday night in Los Angeles against the Lakers — the Magic will have reached the halfway mark of the season (41 games). Orlando won't match last season's record of 33-8 after 41 games.

SG Carter (shoulder) did not play Wednesday night against the Nuggets and is still listed day-to-day. Carter turns 33 on Jan. 26. But according to his bio in the Magic media guide, he's 25. It erroneously lists his birthday as Dec. 8, 1985 — which is actually the date of Dwight Howard's birthday. Ah, wishful thinking.