On a recent episode of the Lowe Post, Charlotte Hornets coach Steve Clifford looked back on the 2009 Orlando Magic and the one decision that changed it all.
When the Orlando Magic signed Rashard Lewis in the summer of 2007, everyone focused on the salary. He signed a max deal and immediately became a focus of contention for Magic fans. With a growing Dwight Howard, no one really knew what to expect from him.
The most immediate question was where he would play. The team had Hedo Turkoglu already and seemed poised to start Rashard Lewis ahead of him with Tony Battie playing power forward.
As the popular story goes, Tony Battie tore his rotator cuff in practice trying to defend Dwight Howard. It left the Magic with a big choice on how to proceed.
This is where Stan Van Gundy concocted the idea of playing Rashard Lewis at power forward. The rest was history. The Magic went on to win the Southeast Division in 2008 and get out of the first round for the first time in 12 years that season. They would move on to the 2009 Finals and establish themselves as one of the best teams in the league.
Lewis was a centerpiece to all of that, putting in some incredible moments along the way.
It almost was not that way. That decision to play power forward was a huge sacrifice on Lewis’ part. And a big gamble on Van Gundy’s part. And for a number of reasons.
Charlotte Hornets coach, and former Orlando Magic assistant coach, Steve Clifford joined Zach Lowe on the Lowe Post podcast last week and shared some stories about those Magic runs.
That includes the decision to turn Lewis into a power forward. A decision, he says, went against the promise they made him in free agency.
Clifford said Lewis agreed to join the Magic with the express promise he would not have to play power forward. But when it came time to ask him to make sure all the Magic’s best players were on the floor, he accepted his new role. And eventually owned it:
It was hard to remember just how controversial that decision was to move Lewis to the 4. There were still real power forwards playing and there was concern whether he would stand up against them.
But the Magic’s 4-out system quickly asked the question whether anyone else could defend him. In 2008, Lewis averaged 18.2 points per game and shot 40.9 percent from beyond the arc. In 2009, he was an All-Star averaging 17.7 points per game and shooting 39.7 percent from beyond the arc.
His play transformed the Magic and turned them into a matchup nightmare. Their upset of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals was almost strictly about the matchup problems Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu created. The bigger Cavaliers team had no one who could cover the Magic’s wings on the perimeter.
Clifford talks a lot about that run with the Magic and what made those teams so good. He believes they were close to winning the title in both 2009 and 2010. In 2010, arguably the Magic’s best team in that run, having too much rest before the conference finals before playing the Boston Celtics likely did them in. Or played a role in ending that run.
Next: Orlando Magic prepare to go young, integrate new players
Clifford also talks about his philosophy on playing young players as the Hornets season winds down, a philosophy similar to what the Magic are doing now under Frank Vogel.