Some things to look for in tonight's Magic preseason contest

The Magic will be playing the Charlotte Bobcats in their second preseason game Wednesday night in Orlando, and will be looking for a much better defensive effort after a dismal second half in which the Magic gave up 69 points to Atlanta in a 118-101 loss Monday night.

Brian Schmitz of the Sentinel reports that the Magic have picked up the option on J.J. Redick's contract, and he is signed through 2010 now. Redick had an impressive performance with 12 points in 19 minutes off the bench against the Hawks, and Coach Van Gundy said that Redick played the best of all the reserves. Can J.J. pick up where he left off and continue to solidify a spot in the rotation?

Other areas to watch, not only tonight but for the rest of the preseason also:

-Rashard Lewis struggled much of last year's preseason but got off to a solid start Monday night with 22 points, 6 rebounds.

-Will any one of the trio of Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, and Mickael Pietrus score in double figures against Charlotte after failing to do so against Atlanta?

-Can the Magic improve upon their poor defensive performance from Monday night? The Magic were outrebounded by 11, and Dwight Howard had more blocks (8) than rebounds (5).

-Can Anthony Johnson continue to make us all feel better about the backup point guard position with another, solid, efficient performance off the bench?

-Will Marcin Gortat continue to make a legitimate bid to be Howard's backup off the bench instead of Adonal Foyle, who saw no action Monday?

-Can the Magic and Howard continue their solid free throw shooting?

A recap here on the blog will follow the game later on tonight.