Steve Clifford’s simplistic goals will set the Orlando Magic on the right path

Steve Clifford had a simple approach to reforming the Charlotte Hornets. And he will likely bring the same approach to build a culture for the Orlando Magic

Orlando Magic fans have been through a lot since Steve Clifford left with Stan Van Gundy’s dismissal six years ago. It has been a long time since the team has seen a culture take root and work. Things just have not taken root.

Through false starts and poor bets, the team’s expectations are admittedly very low. Everyone wants to manage their excitement when it comes. And even little successes seem to be waiting for that other shoe to drop.

That is all part of the culture problems with Orlando. Even trickling down to the fans. No one expects good things to happen.

And things clearly have to change.

Jeff Weltman and John Hammond have worked to change how the Magic operate behind the scenes. That was really the majority of the team’s heavy lifting during their first year in charge. The Magic wanted to change the way they operate and handle players.

The next step is changing the team’s on-court expectations and mentality. That goes both through the player personnel they bring into the team and the culture Clifford wants to build.

Steve Clifford was a nostalgic pick to replace Frank Vogel. But he was also one that seemed to fit the Magic at the point they are in with their development.

The Magic still have a lot of work to do with the roster. This is a team that won 25 games last year and made very few changes — a healthy Jonathan Isaac, rookie Mohamed Bamba and Jerian Grant are the only major changes to the roster from last year. It does not seem a whole lot will change.

Clifford was taking a patient approach to how he spoke about the team’s roster. He did not comment much about the team, only saying he wanted to review tape and get to know his players more before commenting.

There was always the coach speak that he believes in the team. One team surprises every year, Clifford says why couldn’t it be the Magic? July and August are always the time for optimism.

No one knows what the season will hold for the Magic. There are certainly reasons to be cautiously optimistic. But only cautiously considering how little the roster turned over.

The biggest change was hiring Clifford and bringing his approach to the team. It is one that seemingly will focus on doing a few things very well and keeping the team’s identity simple.

In very basic terms, he set that out in a recent interview with WKMG News Channel 6 reporter Jamie Seh:

"“I want people to look at the schedule and say, “Oh [expletive] we have Orlando Wednesday. Home or road knowing that to beat us it’s not going to be easy. Good teams are hard to play against. You have to be hard to play against on both ends of the floor. That’s our goal and I’m confident we can do that.”"

This was something Weltman spoke about when the Magic hired Clifford initially. Clifford-coached teams rarely beat themselves. It is a discipline and a commitment that helps any team accomplish simple goals and make progress.

The Charlotte Hornets hired Clifford to get them out of one of the worst stretches in basketball history. This was a team that set the record for the worst winning percentage in any NBA season just two years before he took over.

The turnaround Clifford made focused on some simple things — reducing turnovers and locking down the defensive glass.

In the year before Clifford took over, the Hornets (then Bobcats) had the worst defensive rating in the league, giving up 108.9 points per 100 possessions and the second-worst defensive rebound rate at 71.1 percent. They were decent at protecting the ball from turnovers, finishing seventh in turnover rate at 14.8 percent.

In Clifford’s first year, the team’s defensive rating jumped to sixth at 101.6 points allowed per 100 possessions. The Hornets had the top defensive rebound rate at 77.6 percent. And the team had the top turnover rate at 12.9 percent. It was all a part of the team’s gigantic turnaround to make the Playoffs and improve by 20 wins.

But those trendlines continued throughout Clifford’s tenure.

Obviously, not all these numbers tracked with success. The Hornets made two playoff appearances in those five years. So that is no guarantee of success. But it is also clear that the Hornets established a distinct style.

Teams that are not able to get offensive rebounds or force turnovers find it difficult to score easy baskets. It is a big reason why teams found it so difficult to play the Hornets. And why the Hornets had a reputation for never beating themselves. Those are two statistics that show a team is not making mistakes.

Charlotte may never have gotten over the hump, but the team was always competitive and in the Playoff conversation for most of Clifford’s tenure.

The Magic are obviously a different team. It is hard to say whether Orlando can match what Clifford was able to do in Charlotte. And the results also speak volumes.

There is still a current that the Magic did not make a forward move in hiring Clifford. Those criticisms are fair. The Hornets had good numbers but did not translate that to winning.

Joseph Nation of the Step Back maybe puts it best regarding Clifford. He is someone who wants to coach to his player’s strengths, even if that might hold the team back some. Clifford, in Nation’s estimation, puts players in a position where they can succeed while seemingly never testing them and allowing them to expand their games.

He seemingly plays it safe. That allows the team to succeed, but maybe holds some parts of the team back.

That might be what the Magic need — a little bit of discipline to get the team headed in the right direction.

Clifford is not going to do anything complex with this team. His goal, for now, is to establish an identity and a culture for his new team. And to do that, he will keep things simple. He will focus on the things that will make the Magic difficult to play.

Orlando’s strengths are still yet to reveal themselves. It would make sense they will have a defensive focus. But the Magic have not exactly had a history of defense either. Neither did the Hornets when he took over.

The one thing that will change is that discipline and that commitment to a style. Even if it seems overly conservative at the start.

But that conservative approach is exactly what the team needs to get things started.