The Orlando Magic will not benefit from the NBA's seemingly arbitrary system of justice Wednesday night when Shaquille O'Neal and the Los Angeles Lakers make their only visit this season to the TD Waterhouse Centre.

O'Neal was suspended for three games after inciting a melee Jan. 12 when he swung and missed at Chicago Bulls center Brad Miller. That was the same length of suspension handed down to Atlanta's Shareef-Abdur Rahim the day the Hawks lost 100-86 to the Magic.

Naturally, Magic coach Doc Rivers was all in favor of one of the weakest teams in the Eastern Conference being without its top two scorers, Abdur-Rahim and Jason Terry, on Tuesday night. But Rivers isn't convinced the punishments handed out by league vice president Stu Jackson -- and Jackson's predecessor, Rod Thorn -- always fit the crime or achieve the desired effect.

"I used to think the less that people would pay attention to it, the more people would just stop fighting," he said.

With the proliferation of sports on television, it would have been almost impossible to ignore the incident with O'Neal.

"I'm just surprised he didn't retaliate earlier in his career," said Horace Grant, teammates with Shaq for three years with the Magic and last season with the Lakers. "Every single night, the guy used to get beat."

Asked if the 7-foot-1, 340-pound center might have gotten his anger out of his system, Grant laughed and replied, "I hope so, before Wednesday."

ESPN IN, NBC OUT

Rivers, who was an analyst for Turner Sports after his playing days and before he was hired by the Magic, was happy to hear that ESPN will carry NBA games on Wednesday and Friday nights as part of the league's new TV contract.

"ESPN is going to be big for us," he said. "That's what everybody watches."

The contract also meant the end of NBC's 12-year run as the home of the NBA Finals and Sunday afternoon telecasts. The Magic were supposed to have been on NBC today against the Toronto Raptors and next Sunday against the San Antonio Spurs, but both games were bumped. They are scheduled for five other appearances.

"NBC was really good to us," Rivers said. "So you just hope ABC is as good."

Rivers would like to see more teams, including the Magic, move the starting times of their home games to 7 p.m. But he is also concerned that the glut of televised games might keep more fans home regardless.

"I thought a long time ago, they said the reason the NBA was in a slump was becuse they were oversaturated," he said. "If we're not doing that now . . . Geez, I can watch every game every night."

SECOND TIME'S THE CHARM

The technical foul that Darrell Armstrong picked up at the end of the third quarter Thursday night in the 92-87 victory over the Miami Heat was his second of the season.

Armstrong claimed he stuck his head in the Heat's huddle and began yelling in response to the accusation he flopped when backup point guard Eddie House was whistled for charging.

"It would be smart if they'd try to go around me," he said. "But a lot of times, when guys try to run through you, all you've got to do is fall down. That's an easy call."

Armstrong wound up going almost nose-to-nose with Heat assistant coach Stan Van Gundy before being separated.

"I didn't know if he was going to grab my leg," Armstrong cracked, referring to the unintentionally comical reaction by Van Gundy's brother, Jeff, during a 1998 playoff game between the Heat and the Knicks.

DROP THE PUCK?

Even if Tracy McGrady is able to play today despite back spasms, Rivers doesn't expect Raptors fans to be as fired up as when the Magic pulled out a 104-101 victory last April in McGrady's first trip back to Toronto.

"I thought we were in a hockey atmosphere. That was awesome," he said, recalling the booing that took place during the national anthem before the opening tip and the showering of McGrady with debris after the final buzzer.

"It was as good as it gets, as far as hatred. That was like Sixers-Celtics. That's how fans should be. They should hate your guts -- in a respectful way."