--Often-injured Mickael Pietrus, who has missed the last 11 games, said he is scheduled to get the cast off his right hand on Monday. Pietrus has been out with a fracture in his wrist. He hopes to start shooting immediately. He has played in only 20 of the team's 41 games this season. He missed time earlier with a thumb injury.
"I feel like my career in Orlando really hasn't started yet," said Pietrus, who signed as a free agent last summer. --Veteran Tony Battie still is getting used to the reduced minutes this season. Battie, who missed all of last season after surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff, had averaged 23 minutes two seasons ago, and he expected to play a similar amount this season upon his return. He has averaged only 15, and his minutes have been sporadic, as he's served mostly as a backup to Rashard Lewis. Battie thought he also would be the backup to Dwight Howard, but that duty has fallen to young Marcin Gortat.
--Dwight Howard, who loves his Superman nickname, met in Los Angeles with officials from Warner Brothers, who own D.C. Comics and have the rights to the Superman trademark. Howard is expected to work with the company on an endorsement deal.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "You don't know who you'll be at the end of the season. "It's still early." -- Coach Stan Van Gundy, trying to downplay some of the early talk about the Magic contending for an NBA title.
