Orlando Magic notes: Jameer Nelson sits out Thursday's practice but expects to play tonight against the Sacramento Kings

Orlando Magic point guard Jameer Nelson sat out the team's practice Thursday afternoon at RDV Sportsplex because his surgically repaired left knee swelled a bit following Wednesday night's win over the Indiana Pacers.

"It was just a routine day off," Nelson said. "Nothing to worry about."

Nelson said he that he expects to play tonight against the Sacramento Kings at Amway Arena.

Nelson had arthroscopic surgery on the knee on Nov. 18 to repair torn meniscus cartilage and returned to the team's rotation on Dec. 21.

Van Gundy, all-star?

Dwight Howard might see a familiar face on the Eastern Conference bench during the All-Star Game on Feb. 14.

Stan Van Gundy could wind up as the East's coach.

The East and West head coaches will be determined by the regular-season standings. The coach in each conference whose team has the best winning percentage through the games of Jan. 31 will serve as his conference's head coach. But Cleveland's Mike Brown and the Los Angeles Lakers' Phil Jackson — the current leaders — are ineligible to coach in this year's all-star game because they were the head coaches last year.

That leaves Boston's Doc Rivers, Atlanta's Mike Woodson and Van Gundy as the top candidates in the East. The Celtics have a 27-13 record. The Hawks have a 27-14 record. And the Magic have a 27-15 record.

The Magic will host the Celtics on Thursday and host the Hawks on Jan. 30. The games will give Orlando a better chance to overtake those teams in the standings.

Layups

● Vince Carter's sprained left shoulder continues to bother him, but General Manager Otis Smith said Thursday that the team hasn't considered keeping Carter out of games until the pain subsides.

● Howard hit a pair of midrange jumpers against the Lakers, but it appears that opposing teams will continue to dare the all-star center to shoot when he spots up from about 15 feet. "We would give him 20 face-up jump shots," Indiana Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said. "I'm not being derogatory. He's a dominant guy within five feet the basket. He's got a guard-like, explosive first step. So, you just play the odds, as we do with everybody that we play. … If somebody is a 30 percent shooter from a certain range, we're inviting that shot. It doesn't matter whether it's Dwight Howard or somebody else."

● Magic players had a routine National Basketball Players Association meeting after practice Wednesday.

● During TNT's broadcast of the Magic-Lakers game on Monday, the announcers said that Van Gundy spoke with actor Jack Nicholson before tipoff. Van Gundy has spoken with Nicholson in the past, but the coach said he didn't chat with Nicholson on Monday night.