Building the Orlando Magic’s Culture Part 1: A culture of accountability
The Orlando Magic are building their culture from the ground up with Scott Skiles at the helm. His first step, building up accountability in the team.
Scott Skiles has not minced words with his team.
When he was asked what progress or lesson his team could learn from a close loss to the Rockets, he somewhat tersely answered, “I would ask how many times the previous coach was asked that question.”
When he was asked about the Magic’s terrible third quarter against the Toronto Raptors, he asked, “Did you watch the game? Were you in the building?”
That is a sharp contrast to the previous years. Growth was expected, but mistakes were often met with a pat on the back and a better luck next time. The media held them to that low standard too.
Things had to change pretty quickly. Three years of losing wore a franchise pretty hard. Being around these players makes it clear complacency was not something that would set in. Victor Oladipo said at media day said he had discussed winning at media day.
They were just looking for a way to make it happen.
“All I know is he wants us to have the expectation that we’re going to win every night,” Aaron Gordon said. “For that reason, the culture is slowly going to start to shift.”
So how does a culture shift?
There is no easy answer to that. There may not even be an answer to the question of whether there is a culture problem to begin with.
It starts with excuses, and shedding anything that might be easy to fall back on.
“I don’t think from talking to the guys here, I don’t think guys were riding home after a loss saying to themselves ‘Oh, we’re just young. That’s why we didn’t win. It’s OK,'” Skiles said during media day. “At some point, it can’t be anything anymore. You can’t just keep talking about it. Everyone in the league knows the young teams and the veteran teams. If you keep talking about it, something can creep in. I don’t think I would call it an excuse.”
This refrain was heard throughout preseason, training camp and the early part of the season. Players were not going to youth as an excuse. Their inexperience was not going to hold them back or keep them from achieving their goals.
It is one thing to say it is time for a change and another to implement it. That is the step the Magic are at in building their culture.
Culture is also built through identity. Evan Fournier said earlier this season the team lacked an identity last year. They spent the whole year searching for it.
Scott Skiles has made it clear his team’s identity will be based on defending with intensity and moving the ball. When players make multiple mistakes on this front, they end up on the bench next to him. And it does not matter which player makes the mistake — Tobias Harris has been yanked for repeated mistakes as much as Mario Hezonja.
“This is a no excuses league,” Skiles said. “It’s humbling. There are very few games that are a masterpiece. They are kind of ugly games, especially if you are a good defensive team. The more we can eliminate that mindset a little bit that we’re not giving any reasons or excuses for anything. We expect to win. We want to perform. Things like that. We’re going to be better when we do that.”
Skiles has made it no secret he will play the players that give him the best chance to win. There is no set rotation with this team. It will reveal itself to him, he said, through the team’s play.
That kind of accountability is something this group with the Magic have never experienced before. And knowing multiple mistakes will mean less playing time, that is a pretty big statement and that changes the player’s mindset.
Preparation becomes more key because the games are the goals in and of themselves, not extensions of practice as it might be for a developing team looking for experience. Young players can get as much experience in a practice as a game on those kind of teams.
“You can’t win if you don’t expect to win.” –Scott Skiles
“You can’t win if you don’t expect to win,” Skiles said. “[You] can’t expect to win if you don’t work hard, know your job and have confidence in what you are supposed to be doing out there.”
Winning requires more focus. The Magic have had to learn that the hard way early on this season.
Their losses though are not brushed off. They are learning experiences, that part never goes away, but they are not accepted either. The team has to remember what went wrong and improve.
Otherwise, a player, no matter who they are, will end up on the bench.
That is the accountability Skiles is trying to build. It is an expectation that you will get the job done or the coach will find someone who will. There is no guaranteed playing time because of salary or experience.
That has kept things alert early on this season. And has changed the way the Magic approach things, setting the foundation for the team’s rebuild this season.