The Orlando Magic finished the first half of the 2011-12 season with a 22-13 record.  The Magic are in second place in the Southeast Division, 5.5 games behind the Heat.  They are also #5 in the Eastern Conference as of right now.  Here is a look at what players made the biggest impact for the Magic in the first half of the 2011-12 season in my opinion:

Team MVP:  Dwight Howard:  26-year old center Dwight Howard has not let his name being involved in a ton of trade rumors both him so far this year.  He has played in 35 games (all starts) for the Magic so far this year and he is averaging 38.3 minutes, 20.1 points, 15.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.2 blocked shots per game.  Howard is the best center in the NBA right now, period!

Biggest Surprise:  Ryan Anderson:  23-year old starting power forward Ryan Anderson has really stepped up this year for the Magic.  He has played in 34 games (all starts) for the Magic so far this year and he is averaging 31.1 minutes, 16.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.  Anderson is shooting 43.4% from three point range which is very impressive for a player his size.  The Magic hope that Anderson keeps up the good work in the second half of the year.

Biggest Disappointment:  Jameer Nelson:  30-year old point guard Jameer Nelson has been pretty pathetic so far this year.  Nelson has played in 28 games (all starts) for the Magic so far this year and he is averaging 29.8 minutes, 9.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game.  He is only shooting 39.8% from the floor so far this year and only 30.1% from three point range, which is pretty awful for a point guard.  The Magic need Nelson to step up in the second half of the year.

The Magic only shot 37.8% from the floor last night and it hurt them big time.  J.J. Redick (13 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in 25 minutes) and Dwight Howard (12 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 5 blocked shots) led the way for the Magic last night.  Hedu Turkoglu (11 points) and Ryan Anderson (10 points) also pitched in for the Magic last night.  The Magic are now 22-13 on the year.

The Magic shot 53.6% from the floor and they outrebounded the Nets 46-37 which were the big reasons for the nice road win last night.  Dwight Howard led the way for the Magic in this game with 20 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots last night.  Glen Davis (16 points and 3 rebounds) and Ryan Anderson (14 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot) also had rock solid games.  J.J. Redick (12 points), Chris Duhon (11 points), Hedo Turkoglu (10 points) and Jameer Nelson (10 points) also pitched in for the Magic.  The Magic are now 22-12 on the year.

The Magic outscored the Bucks 26-20 in the 4th quarter to help them surge to a nice road win last night.  Dwight Howard led the way for the Magic last night with 28 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 1 blocked shot.  Jameer Nelson (15 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal) and Hedo Turkoglu (13 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists) also had pretty decent games last night.  Glen Davis (12 points) and J.J. Redick (11 points) also pitched in for the Magic in this game.  The Magic are now 21-12 on the year.

The Magic only shot 36.5% from the floor and they were outrebounded 48-40 and it doomed them.  J.J. Redick got a rare start and the led the way for the Magic with 17 points and 1 assist.  Dwight Howard and a rough day from the free throw line where he was 2 for 10, but he still had 12 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.  Glen Davis (12 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot) and Quentin Richardson (10 points, 9 rebounds and 1 assist in 24 minutes on the court.  The Magic are now 20-12 on the year.

The Magic outscored the Bucks 22-11 in the 4th quarter last night to put them away.  Dwight Howard (26 points, 20 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 4 blocked shots) and Ryan Anderson (23 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal) led the way for the Magic in this game.  Hedo Turkoglu also had a decent game with 14 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals.  J.J. Redick (11 points) and Jameer Nelson (10 points) also pitched in for the Magic in this game.  The Magic are now 20-11 on the year.

The Magic shot 53.3% from the floor last night and it helped them to a really easy win over the Sixers in Orlando last night.  Ryan Anderson shot 7 of 10 from three point range last night as he led the way for the Magic in this game with 27 points, 2 rebounds and 1 steal.  Dwight Howard also had a rock solid game with 17 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots last night.  Jason Richardson (14 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists and 2 steals) and Jameer Nelson (12 points, 4 rebounds and 14 assists) also played well for the Magic in this game.  J.J. Redick (12 points) and Hedu Turkoglu (11 points) also chipped in for the Magic.  The Magic are now 19-11 on the year.

31-year old shooting guard Jason Richardson has really stepped up so far in February for the Orlando Magic.  In his first 7 games (all starts) this month, Richardson is averaging 30.6 minutes, 18.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game.  Richardson has now played in 24 games (all starts) for the Magic so far this year and he is averaging 29.0 minutes, 12.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  The Magic need Richardson to keep playing at a high level as they try not only to make the playoffs…..but to convince Dwight Howard to stick around a while longer.

The Magic played solid team basketball last night and the result was a nice home win.  Jason Richardson led the way for the Magic last night with 17 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.  Hedo Turkoglu (14 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists,  2 steals and 1 blocked shot), Jameer Nelson (14 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 blocked shot) and J.J. Redick (14 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist) also had solid games for the Magic last night.  Ryan Anderson (13 points) and Dwight Howard (11 points) also pitched in for the Magic last night.  The Magic are now 18-11 on the year.

The Magic outscored the Bucks 27-21 in the 4th quarter to surge to victory.  Jason Richardson led the way for the Magic last night with 31 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals.  He also shot an amazing 9 of 11 from three point range last night!  Hedo Turkoglu also had a solid game with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 blocked shot.  J.J. Redick (14 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist in 22 minutes) and Dwight Howard (11 points, 14 rebounds, 1 assist and 4 blocked shots) also chipped in.  The Magic are now 17-11 on the year.