(My Sportsbook) - Another season, another ankle surgery for Grant Hill.

Since suffering the injury in the 2000 playoffs as a member of the Detroit Pistons, Hill has missed 172 games. He is currently in the third of a seven-year, $93 million contract with Orlando. This will be Hill's fourth surgery.

"If surgery will be required it won't be the same procedure or the same length of time that there was before," Hill told the Florida Today. "It's more to just fix the structural issues than the fracture."

According to the newspaper, Hill would miss three weeks if he undergoes the procedure, which would allow him to return for the playoffs.

The 30-year-old forward, who has missed the Magic's last 14 games, was placed in the injured list January 18.

This season Hill has played in 29 of 55 games for Orlando, averaging 14.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists.

Despite an obviously frustrating situation, Hill has still managed to dig up some optimism.

"This is a little simple procedure that may have been the cause to all of these problems," Hill said. "I use the analogy of a car being out of alignment and the tires keep wearing down and you keep changing them. Well, you've got to fix the alignment, not the tires over and over."

If what Hill is saying has an ounce of truth, and not just wishful thinking, there are a lot of doctors whose faces should be full of egg.

MAGIC STING HORNETS

Despite falling into a double-digit hole early and a slow start by Tracy McGrady, the Magic managed to battle back for a 99-94 victory over the New Orleans Hornets.

Orlando trailed by 16 after the first quarter and rallied for its biggest comeback of the season.

Mike Miller and McGrady each scored 24 points in the winning effort.

"Going into the game, I really believed we had to win," Orlando coach Doc Rivers said. "I just thought, we can't get down any further under .500 and we can't get any further out of the race."

The Magic are currently one game behind the Washington Wizards for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference tournament. Washington is expected to get leading scorer Jerry Stackhouse back for Wednesday's game against New Orleans. With the Wizards at full strength and the Magic already down a gun, it's going to be a tough road to haul the rest of the season.