progress during summer-league play. Second-round draft pick Travis Diener showed excellent shooting and decision-making during the summer. And the free-agent signing of Keyon Dooling showed that the club was going to continue making progress. Then trouble began. Hill, despite his ankle apparently being healed, suffered a painful sports hernia injury that would hamper his play throughout the entire season. After playing in three preseason games, he underwent surgery to correct the hernia and would not appear during the regular season until mid-December, to which he lasted a month before attempting to make another comeback in February and early March, however, he only played sporadically. Then a foot injury to Nelson forced him to sit out for over a month. On February 15, 2006, the Magic announced that they had acquired Darko Miličić and Carlos Arroyo from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Kelvin Cato and a 2007 top-five protected first-round draft pick. One week later, on February 22, the Magic announced that they had traded Steve Francis to the New York Knicks in exchange for Penny Hardaway (whom they waived two days later) and Trevor Ariza. With a set starting rotation of Battie, Howard, Türkoğlu, DeShawn Stevenson, and Nelson, the Magic mounted a surprising run at the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, including an 8-game winning streak and 12 consecutive home wins. The streak included wins against NBA powerhouses Detroit, San Antonio, Dallas and Miami, as well as a game against the Philadelphia 76ers in which Howard recorded 28 points and a career-high 26 rebounds. Despite their efforts they did not make the playoffs. 2006–2010: Return to the NBA Finals With the 11th overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft, the Magic took former Duke star JJ Redick. Even with the fan support to get him playing time he averaged just over 11 minutes a game. After beginning the season strong with a 13–4 record, the Orlando Magic began to suffer in the standings as the result of multiple losses, due in large part to the injuries of Tony Battie, Keyon Dooling, and Grant Hill. The Magic were also hampered with the sporadic play of many of their young stars, who on multiple occasions showed their propensity for streaky shooting and the team's lack of a solid scoring two-guard. Despite the team's poor play, Dwight Howard continued to develop and blossom in his third year in the league,