"Magic GM Otis Smith has referred to Gilbert Arenas as a "sleeping giant."

Well, Gil needs to wake up.

And if he doesn't, how can coach Stan Van Gundy possibly give him the same amount of playing time in the postseason?

Judging by the way Arenas has played since arriving in a trade, Van Gundy will have to lean heavily on Jameer Nelson as his playoff point guard --- unless something changes in these last 25 games.

Arenas has averaged only 7.9 points, shooting 34.5 percent, including 25 percent from 3-point range in 30 games.

Arenas has played 21 minutes per game. But if he doesn't progress, shouldn't Van Gundy keep him at about 10-13 minutes per game, giving Nelson about 35?

Nelson averaged 34.1 minutes last postseason, and his back-up --- Jason Williams – averaged 13.7. J-Will was more effective last season than Arenas has been heading into the playoffs.

Williams, recently released, finished last season at 44 percent shooting and 38 percent from downtown, averaging 20 minutes per game to Nelson's 28 minutes.

But aren't we counting on more from Arenas, 29, than we did of J-Will, 35? We should expect a 3-time all-star's playing time to at least remain the same in the postseason as it did in the regular season.

Actually, there's an even larger issue at work despite Nelson's proven postseason track record (He led Orlando in playoff scoring last season).

Neither Nelson nor Arenas lately has been playing consistently enough to ease Van Gundy's mind."