Updated: January 7, 2009, 2:12 PM ET

Insider Gems: Jan. 7, 2009

John Hollinger gives us five observations for Wednesday.

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Hollinger By John Hollinger
ESPN.com
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1. If there's going to be an interesting division race in the East, it will be in the Southeast Division. And we'll know if that's going to happen by Friday. Atlanta and Orlando kick off a home-and-home series Wednesday in Philips Arena, and the Magic's four-game lead could be cut in half in the next 48 hours. Since Atlanta already owns a November win in Orlando, that would put the season series in the Hawks' favor as well, giving them the tiebreaker, and thus making the division race a real scramble the rest of the way -- especially since the final meeting, in April, is again in Atlanta.

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