No, they're still an elite team. Wins against San Antonio, Dallas, LA, Miami (x2), Boston (though they lose the other 2 games), OKC (lost the other matchup by 1 point), and Chicago (lost the last game one, but have another one tonight) can attest to that.
Howard's morphed into this total brute in the post. While he gets away with his share of 'bows and cheap shots, it's not like he doesn't get roughed around down there either. Wade, LeBron, Kobe, Rose or any elite perimeter player get the benefit of the doubt when they drive to the lane and Howard certainly does not.
The Magic have as a great of a chance to make it out of the East than Miami or Chicago. They're biggest issue is finding ways to score when they can't run the ball through Howard. Boston really is the only team big enough to guard Howard one-on-one even with Perkins gone. Also, if Arenas can contribute anything consistently off of the bench, then the second unit of him, Redick, Quentin Richardson and Anderson are as potent as any of their contemporaries in the league.
In short, since the Lakers blow-out a few weeks back, they've played consistently great ball, home loss to the Kings notwithstanding. I didn't know about Howard's website plugging him for MVP, which is hard to defend. I will say though, he's easily a Top 3 candidate aside from Rose and LeBron; it's a shame that he's not in the conversation save for a passing mention.
Tonight's game against Chicago is gonna be great. The hangover of an emotional win last night might do them in, but we'll see how it goes.