I really don’t mind the Pacers losing right now. I mean, come on, it’s the pre-season.

Carter was six-of-eight in three-pointers and showed how valuable he was to this Magic squad.

“It’s always a great feeling that you can contribute to the team like that,” the 13th-year guard said. “The one beautiful thing about the way our team, and the way our team is built is we have so many weapons. One of my focuses for this year is knocking down open shots. It’s just all about repetition and shooting, and that’s what I’ve done.”

Ryan Anderson had ten points along with 16 rebounds while Dwight Howard went for ten points and ten boards.

Howard enjoyed Carter’s performance last night.

“He was the only one making shots,” Howard said. “He did an excellent job. He shot the ball with confidence, and we kept looking for him and we’re happy. That’s what we want from Vince.”

Darren Collison, in his debut at Conesco Fieldhouse, scored 18 points. With this performance, I have a sense of good things to come from the young point guard this season.

Power forward Tyler Hansbrough had nine points in 19 minutes, playing pretty decent after missing much of last season with a severe ear infection.

“He played with energy, which you can always expect from Tyler,” Pacers coach Jim O’Brien said. “As he gets more and more time, he’ll get more comfortable out there.”

Danny Granger and Roy Hibbert each contributed for twelve points. They both had ten by halftime.

Carter started getting his three-pointers down when the Magic took a 54-51 lead. After that, Carter took control and the game was pretty much over from there.

“I just thought that the first half, both of our exhibition games, I’ve been a little disappointed that we didn’t come into the game in the first quarter with a defensive mentality,” Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said. “Our message at halftime was that we had to play better defense. I thought our defense in the third quarter was much more intense, much, much better.”

Point guard A.J. Price had 15 points. Lance Stephenson, who had an arrest about a month ago or so, scored six points. Paul George was one-of-eight on shooting with three points. Let’s hope the rookie can fix that.

Collison showed what the Pacers fans want. Got to love that!

“I’m starting to feel more and more comfortable with each practice and with my new team,” he said. “Right now, we’re just learning each other as a team, and I think we’ll be ready for the season.”

T.J. Ford sat out the game with a hamstring injury while Jeff Foster filled in for Josh McRoberts at power forward in the second half as McRoberts had sore neck. McRoberts also had a technical foul in the game, too.

The veteran. The old guy. He’s not as fast, we know. He’s not as freakish, not as much as a dunking king as he used to be. But he still has a lot left in the tank.

And he has something to prove. And for the first time in his career, he has a shot at the Finals with a strong team making noise: the Orlando Magic. Carter probably has never had a player like Dwight Howard.

Carter has more weapons around him. And he isn’t considered the No. 1 guy anymore, though it doesn’t hurt him probably.

Carter needs to prove something: Can he win a championship with a such a competitive squad like this? Can he? I guess we’ll have to find out.

From his great days with the Raptors, we remember that Carter. We all remember his great rookie season, his amazing performance at the 2000 Slam Dunk Competition, his eight appearances at the All-Star.

But one thing is missing. We all know what that is.

A ring.

We know he’s getting old. He doesn’t put up the stats we see back then. But he is still pretty decent, averaging 16.6 PPG, 3.9 RPG, and 3.1 APG.

Carter has a chance. He probably never has one bigger than this. I really don’t sense and upset from the Bobcats. The Magic will advance to the second round. Can they return to the Finals?

It’s possible. Carter came here as just a “replacement” for Hedo Turkoglu. But if you compare the two now, we all know Vince was the better player. We expected Turkoglu to put up the big numbers since he will be one of the big options.

Way off. Just dead wrong. The Magic have a more experienced squad here, but they are smarter, too. They know what’s coming.

No longer will Carter be counted on all the time. No longer will he suffer. No longer will he be one of those guys who were dominant, but had no ring.

This may be Carter’s last chance. He will have to earn it.

Let the Vinsanity began.