Magic's Hill takes a Medical Mystery Tour

A lower abdominal injury has him seeking relief.
KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The Grant Hill Medical Mystery Tour takes him next to California.
Looking for relief or a remedy to a painful lower abdominal injury, Hill leaves today for Los Angeles and will be evaluated by Dr. Craig Smith, another specialist in the field.
Hill was in Philadelphia on Monday morning to see Dr. William Meyers. He then traveled in the afternoon to Durham, N.C., to seek opinions from doctors at Duke University Medical Center.
Magic Assistant General Manager Otis Smith said Hill's test results are "still showing negative [no tear in the area].
"He's feeling better," Smith said. "We just don't know if rest and rehab is the course of action yet."
Hill should be glad he missed the Magic's 67-65 victory against the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night -- one of the club's all-time preseason clunkers. Pat Garrity ended it with a game-winning jumper with no time left.
Hill will miss Thursday night's preseason finale at home against the Miami Heat. The club expects his doctors to consult via a conference call by Friday.
"He definitely has a strain there," Smith said. "I'm concerned and with what Grant has been through, we're probably even more conservative."
Rest is a hope
The Magic are hoping rest will do the trick. Surgery could keep Hill out for perhaps three months, a blow to the team and to a player who made a successful comeback last season after five ankle surgeries.
If Hill is out of the lineup indefinitely, his spot will be manned by Hedo Turkoglu. Turkoglu, a 6-foot-10 swingman, generally has been coming off the bench during his five-year career.
"With Grant not playing, I'll do whatever Coach needs me to do," Turkoglu said.
The Magic signed him as a free agent last summer, largely as a Plan B in case Hill finally ran out of comebacks. But Hill made it to the all-star game and played 67 games last season. Turkoglu averaged 14 points per game as a sixth man.
"A year ago, we signed Turk with this in mind," Smith said. "He's a good insurance policy. Maybe [Hill's absence] will wake up Turk a little bit."
The book on Turk: Nice shooter, creative playmaker, defensively challenged.
"It's an opportunity for Hedo," Coach Brian Hill said. "We can't use anybody's absence as an excuse. You have to have guys step up and do the job."
The Magic got off to such a slow start against the Grizzlies that it seemed time stood still. It felt like 1989 -- their expansion season. They scored just eight points in the second quarter, hitting 8 of 37 shots for an icy 21.6 percent.
The Magic finished shooting .30.6 percent. Jameer Nelson "led" Orlando with 13 points. Turkoglu added 11.
Steve Francis left late in the third quarter after being hit in the side of the head. Couldn't blame him for not wanting back in this game, either.