"Vince Carter was back out there against the Hawks on Monday night, although he didn't appear to be watching where he stepped on the Amway Center floor.

The Magic have a crack mop-up crew, I'm told, and it's always on the look-out for treacherous wet spots.

"They'll be on red alert," laughed longtime team operations manager Rodney "Sid" Powell.

Their senses were heightened after what happened to Carter on Saturday night at Timer Warner Wet 'n Wild Arena, home of the Charlotte Bobcats.

He took a nasty spill after slipping, his legs awkwardly splaying from under him as if he were on an ice rink. He nearly did the splits, practically sawed in half, truly looking like "Half-Man, Half Amazing."

Carter left a tight game with under two minutes remaining and didn't return, complaining about a sore hip and knee.

Coach Stan Van Gundy ripped the Bobcats' clean-up crew afterwards.

"So we got a guy hurt and that's ridiculous," Van Gundy said. "You don't put players in that situation because you don't want to work."'

Memo to NBA ball boys: There's a whole new definition of mop-up duty when Stan's in town.

Ball boys are usually quicker picker-uppers, but sometimes they can't get to a spot in time as players race up and down. Van Gundy conceded as much later."